Ten Years Later
by Ellie Parker
Summary: Post FANG. Ten years after Fang leaves, he hooks back up with Max. but what will happen when they get back together? Eggy, Nazzy, and FAX!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey Guys and Dolls! I needed to get this out of my head, and I know that I still need to finish Fang: Part Two, but…anyway, if you haven't read Fang: Part Two, please do. You won't be lost reading this if you haven't, but R&R please!**

10 years. That was all Fang could stand apparently. He had contacted Nudge through his blog yesterday, telling her to get me to Lake Mead today. Don't get me wrong, I was excited, but so much had changed.

First of all, I was 25 years old. I was more mature, and well, I looked more mature. Over the past decade, my wings had grown another two feet, making them seventeen feet across. I kept my hair cut short, down to my shoulders, and it had recently turned red. And then I also lived alone, had gotten a job as a zoo keeper in Phoenix, no jokes please. What was Fang expecting?

But then what was I expecting? He would not be the same. He would probably-inevitably-be taller. His hair would probably be neater-but I prayed it wouldn't be.

I dressed casually though. Black denim jeans, a white V-Neck sweater, with a blue denim cropped jacket on top. Of course I wore my new boots; they were all I ever wore these days with my job.

The sky was clear and blue. It was around eleven o'clock in the morning, and the morning rush had just ended. There was a warm updraft, coming from the East. I coasted most of the way to Lake Mead, enjoying the warmth of the sun on my wings and back.

My phone started to vibrate in my back pocket. I had completely forgotten about how I was supposed to work today; oops.

"Hello?" I said, mentally cringing at my boss's reaction.

"Where the hell are you Max? It's Saturday, you know it's always extra busy on Saturdays!" My boss, Joan, yelled.

"Family emergency." I said, stumbling over the 'family' part. No southern jokes.

"Oh, I am sorry. Do you need help with anything?" she asked tone softer.

I could see the lake in the distance. "No, it's okay. I'll be there on Monday." I told her, speeding up.

Joan hung up, as usual. Joan was a hard-shelled person. She hardly ever said hello or goodbye. Which could suck at times.

Finding the cave could have been like finding the needle in the haystack, but with my natural ability of knowing where things were, I found it within seconds. I came to a skittering landing in the cave, but I only found it empty. I shrunk back into the shadows, wanting to remain hidden while waiting for Fang to get there.

On my way here, I was getting creative with ideas about my reactions to seeing him again. Every part of me that was controlled by my brain was screaming at me to beat him up until he begged for mercy, while my heart screamed at me to forgive him and maybe even lose my virginity.

A skidding noise dragged me out of my dream world. I looked around the corner and saw Fang standing in the mouth of the cave, taller like I had expected, and in all black, like I had expected. I could see him looking back farther in the cave, probably using raptor vision to see extra well. I counted to five, and then stepped out of the shadows.

"Fang." I said quietly.

He looked at me for a long time, and then spoke, his voice deeper. "Maximum Ride."

I pursed my lips and crossed my arms over my chest. "So…you must have a reason for deciding to meet me ten years early."

"Don't think this sounds corny Maximum, but-."

"It's Max." I said quickly.

"What?"

"Max. I want you to call me Max, like you always used to."

"Okay, fine, Max-." he said, trying to continue, but I wasn't done.

"You know, I came here today, not really knowing what to expect. But I didn't expect you to be so rude. Since when did you call me Maximum? I had always thought that you didn't call me Maximum because when you met me you couldn't say it, and Max just stuck. When you said you loved me in that goddamn letter and used my real name, I couldn't have cared less. But now?" I took a deep breath, I hadn't been so frustrated since I saved the world, and had succeeded, and Jeb left. "Fang, I really want to hate you, but…" I said, tears pooling in my eyes, "but I can't. I love you entirely too much." I said, stepping closer to him, begging him to reach out to me through my eyes.

Fang let out a small hiccup, a hidden sob. He ran toward me, grabbing me around the waist and throwing my back against the cave wall. Our lips connected, and his hands grabbed my shirt and yanked it over my head. I took his shirt and unbuttoned, sliding it down his muscled arms. My hands moved down to the zipper on his pants, yanking them down to his ankles. He did the same to my pants, and soon both us were stripped down to our undergarments.

I pushed myself up against him, maybe too hard, because we were falling, and I landed on top of him. My legs were wrapped around his strong torso, and his hands were tangled in my hair.

I woke up the next morning in the arms of Fang. I had his shirt halfway buttoned on, and I reached over to stroke hair out of his eyes. They fluttered open, and he stared deeply into my eyes. "I love you." I whispered.

"I love you." He said.

We put our clothes back on, and then took off from the cliff edge. We flew home with my hand reaching down to connect with his hand that was reaching up. This small contact set my skin on fire, and I was so happy. I finally had my Fang back. Yay.

**That's it guys. Finally out of my head. R&R please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Guess What? Oh yeah, hey guys and Dolls! Okay, so now guess what? I will continue on with the story. **

**Unfortunately, my family and I just got two puppies and we already have another dog that's six years old. So things are pretty hectic in my house. The cute part is that we have on named Poe, as in the author Edgar Allen Poe, and every time I am writing he comes and sits by me. Talk about ironic. The other one is named Gatsby, as in The Great Gatsby. Anyway, they are just too cute. **

**Anyway, let's get on with Fax action! Oh yeah, disclaimer: I do not own anything in the realm of Maximum Ride, except for my fanfics.**

I pulled my key to my apartment out of my back pocket. Fang's eyes followed my hands, and lingered on my butt. I sent him a death glare and unlocked my door, swinging my arm at Fang to get him to go inside. He took one look around, taking in the décor.

My kitchen had granite counter tops, with a large island. I had three stools there where the flock usually took up residence when Iggy was cooking. It was a really nice kitchen, but I never ever cooked in there. My daily diet consisted of Special K cereal, Totinos Pizza Rolls, and left-over take-out food. I had plenty of Energy Drinks in the fridge though, and pulled one out as I walked by.

My living room had black leather sofas and a black coffee table with a glass plate in the middle. The fireplace was electric, and there was a plasma screen TV over it. There were plenty of places to sit in there, which we all enjoyed on Christmas morning. And because it was December, I had a Christmas tree in the corner.

I flipped the switch on the Christmas tree, and hit the play button on my message machine and listened as I took out some left over Chinese food. The first message was from Joan.

"I really hope you can be at work tomorrow because I really do not want to give your job away to someone else, but I will if I have to." She said, sounding calmer than she did earlier that day.

The next was from Mom. "Hey honey, just want to finalize plans for Christmas, get back to me ASAP."

The last one was from Nudge. "Max, I just want to know how today went. You haven't been answering any calls or texts. But if you're, you know…_busy,_ don't worry about it."

I rolled my eyes, knowing what she meant by 'busy,' but decided to let it go, seeing as she hadn't gotten there with Gazzy yet.

I took my container of Lo Maine out of the microwave and divided it into two bowls. I handed one to Fang, looking at a Nation Geographic magazine briefly before meeting his eyes again. "So…ten years. What have you been up to?" I asked.

"Not a lot. I got a job at a music store, have my own place in the city, like I said, not a lot. And no, I haven't seen anyone." He added, even though I didn't think about it.

"A music store, huh?" I asked.

"I take what I can get." He said, shrugging. "What about you? You like animals?"

I cleared my throat. "Yeah, actually I work with them. Mom got me a pretty good job with the zoo here in Phoenix. I do everything, from feeding the seals to scooping the elephant poop." I told him, scooping noodles into my mouth.

"What about the flock?"

"Umm…good actually. Iggy got a job with Mom, as kind of like a security guard. And then Ella hooked up with him, and they're getting married in a couple months. Then Gazzy and Nudge hooked up a couple years ago, and Angel graduates from high school this year with her non-winged boyfriend. That's basically it." I said.

Fang ate some more lo Maine, absorbing all of the information. "Dylan?" he finally asked.

His tone sent shivers down my back. "Gone." I said. "He disappeared shortly after you left. He kind of tried to win me over for a while, but lucky for you I am extremely stubborn and loyal no matter what."

We continued to eat the noodles. He kept looking deeply in my eyes, and it took my entire being to restrain from touching him.

"Maybe I should get going. Early morning tomorrow." He finally said, setting down his empty bowl.

"Oh." There was an awkward silence as he didn't know how to say goodbye. "Where do you work?" I asked.

"San Diego." He said absently.

I nodded. "Well, fly safe." I said.

"I will." He walked around the counter and gave me a kiss on the cheek before going to the door.

I walked into my bedroom and stripped while turning on the water in the shower, waiting for it to heat up. I heard my bedroom door open, and then Fang came in the bathroom, gathering my face in his hands and kissing me full on the lips. I took off his clothes again, and he slowly backed me into the shower.

**Okay, so far I hope it's good. REVIEW!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, sorry I haven't updated for a while. I have been super busy. Ugh! I hate school. Anyway, enough about that, I do have one request when you guys are reviewing, and I am saying this nicely, I'm not trying to be mean at all. Please do not tell me what to do with these stories, like, I go at my own pace, my own speed. I don't think any of you guys would like it very much if someone told you what to do.**

**Just take that into consideration while reviewing please. Thank you! Now onto Chapter 3.**

I knocked on Ella's front door to her house. She answered, squealing and hugging me tightly. "Hey! Oh my gosh, I was just telling Iggy that you should be here soon, but he kept telling me I was wrong." She said, stopping to take a breath to calm herself and to pull away from me.

"Hey. So how are things? How is the baby?" I asked, stepping inside and following her into the living room, where I could hear Iggy in the kitchen. Ella plopped down on the sofa, hand over her bulging stomach.

"Good, perfectly healthy. But I am already tired of being pregnant, and I have five months left." She said.

"Hang in there. Hey Iggy." I said, taking a cup of coffee from him as he came in and sat down next to her, taking her hand. "Where's the flock?"

"Umm…Last time I checked they were outside playing football. You want me to go get them?" Iggy asked.

"If you don't mind." I said.

He got up, walked to the back door, and yelled for Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel to come in. They came in laughing about Nudge's last tackle with Gazzy.

"Hey Max." Angel said, still laughing.

The others filed in after her. I stood up as they took their seats around the world, and I stood in front of them, wringing my hands nervously. "Okay, so I know I didn't answer any of your calls, and I am sorry, but I have an announcement for all of you." I took a deep breath. "Fang and I are back together." I said.

There was silence, but then finally Nudge asked the main question. "Like, _together_ together?"

"Umm…yeah, I guess so." I said awkwardly, knowing what she was talking about. "I mean, yeah, we're pretty serious."

"Can you specify on the serious?" Iggy asked.

"Shut up Ig." Ella snapped. "Max's sex life is none of your business."

I sighed. "Okay, so that is really all I was here for. I gotta go to work." I said, walking to the door.

"Max wait." Ella said. She went into the bathroom down the hall and pulled out a small box and bottle. "You may want these."

"Birth control and condemns?" I asked, staring down at them in my hands. They looked so strange and out of place there, I had never even needed them.

"Trust me. You don't want to be pregnant when you get married. Been there, done that, not as fun as it sounds." Ella said, slightly chuckling. Nobody aside from Iggy, Mom, and I knew that Ella was actually pregnant when she married Iggy. We had our suspicions that Jeb knew, but he was usually good at hiding those things.

I nodded, knowing she was probably right. I did want to enjoy my wedding night the correct way. "Thanks I guess. I'll see you later. Maybe Fang could come over for dinner one night? Just to catch up?"

Ella looked back inside at Iggy, then she closed the front door behind her and crossed her arms across her chest. "I don't know. Iggy isn't too thrilled about Fang being back in the picture."

"Why not?" I asked, getting upset.

"People can't be as forgiving as you, Max. You know that Fang was like a brother to Iggy, would you forgive me if I left you so suddenly with nothing more than a letter?" Ella asked.

"Of course." I said automatically.

"What about Nudge? I know how hurt you were when she decided to stay behind at school all those years ago." She said.

"Well, I'd be…ticked." I was about to say pissed, but I remembered Iggy's 'Absolutely no cussing around Ella' rule. And it was true, I'd be pissed, but I would forgive her. "Maybe it is different for girls."

Ella shrugged. "I don't know." She looked around, starting to shiver with cold. "I'm going inside, but I promise I'll talk to him about it later. You know, see what I can do. But I can't make any promises about him saying yes."

"That's okay. Do what you can." I said, hugging her quickly.

A few weeks later, Fang came over for dinner. We sat on the couch, devouring an entire pizza, learning everything about each other possible. "Okay, so favorite Chinese take-out place? And don't say China Moon." I said.

"Sorry. I guess I can't answer than." He said, shrugging. I pushed his shoulder playfully, laughing. He even cracked a smile. "Favorite band?" he asked.

"Hmm, Muse, without a doubt." I said. "Or Hawk Nelson, mostly because I just love Jason Dunn." I added, just to get on his nerves.

"What, no Justin Bieber?"

"Oh my God! Justin Beiber, he is the very reason I live! I love him!" I said in my funniest impersonation of an obsessed fan."

We both fell over in fits of laughter, but it was cut short when I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. My hand flew up to my mouth as I sprinted to the closest bathroom, and threw up. Fang held my hair back, and brushed it out of my eyes as I continued to vomit for the next ten minutes. When I was finished, I sat back against the cabinets, and Fang put his arm around me. I scooted away.

"I don't want to get you sick too. You should probably go." I told him a small, weak voice.

"No, I am going to stay until you get better." He refused.

"That's ridiculous. I can get someone else to take care of me, like my mom. You have a job, and an actual life away from me." I told him.

"Max, I hardly have a life away from you. I have told you a thousand times that I haven't been seeing any girls, and I kind of keep to myself at work, when I am ever there. I am perfectly able to take care of you when you need me." He said, not budging.

I had a feeling this conversation was going in a different direction than I thought. "Fang, what are you talking about?" I asked.

"I will always be here Max. And that is why I want to marry you." He said.

I gaped at him, but then I felt that pain again, and was sick for another ten minutes. When I was done, I laid down on the cold floor, enjoying the feeling of the cold floor against my flushed cheek. Fang got up suddenly, and left the bathroom. I heard him grab his car keys off of the counter and run out of my apartment, slamming the door behind him.

**A good long chapter, and I didn't notice it until now. REVIEW PLEASE!**


	4. Chapter 4

**This chapter we get to look into Max's life at work a bit. You know, her normal friends and the relationships she has with them. R&R please!**

A couple weeks later, I was busy feeding the seals at the zoo with one of my friends, Maggie. She had been away on vacation, and she was the one person that I had really filled in on what was going on with Fang.

"So he just split, leaving you sick on the bathroom floor with no one there for you?" she asked, throwing one far for a seal to fetch.

"Yep, but it was strange because I threw up for another five minutes but I was fine after that." I said.

"Have you seen him since then?" Maggie asked.

I put down my fish bucket, which was starting to make me feel nauseous just from the smell of it. "No. The next day when I was talking to Jeb Fang came up in the conversation, and he said that Fang had to go one some top secret mission for a couple weeks. You know, we still need to save the world from time to time." I said.

We were quiet for a few minutes, just feeding the seals food. We finished and went into the wash room, and we hosed down the buckets and our wet suits. I changed into my work clothes and pulled on my boots. I was just about to move on to my next job there when Maggie talked again.

"Max, are you pregnant?" she asked.

I had wondered that too, but just because I was a week late, and throwing up every morning didn't mean I was pregnant…right? "Well, Ella asked that too. And when you think about it, she would probably know, but there is no way." I said.

"There is no way because you have been using protection?" she asked.

"Well, no, not exactly." I said, all of it starting to form in my head. The idea of me having a baby seemed impossible.

"You should find out." Maggie told me.

I laughed, walking outside. "I will, okay? Even though I know for a fact that I am not, I will find out when Fang gets home." I promised, and walked out into the hot afternoon sun.

The next day, I kicked up the courage to go to Ella's house. With Iggy being at work, and the flock at school, she was the only that could've answered. "Hey, what's up?" she said groggily, looking like she had just rolled out of bed. She probably had though; she was still in her pajamas, which consisted of girl boxer shorts and a t-shirt from Iggy that said "Large and In Charge."

"Can I come in real quick?" I asked. "I gotta get to work soon."

"Sure." Ella said, opening the door wider to let me in. I stood in their foyer awkwardly for a couple minutes, but then I finally got the courage to ask.

"Ella, do you have any pregnancy tests that I can borrow?"

**Short I know! Review please!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry it has been a while, but I might stop doing AN's before chapters because I know that hardly anyone ever reads them. Anyways, just read. And thanks for reading the AN's if you have been.**

I looked down at the four little plus signs, and clutched the sink with both hands. I felt like I was about to hurl, which could possibly have something to do with the fact that I was pregnant! Ella crossed her arms over her chest.

"It could still be a mistake." I said with a quivering voice.

"Four tests cannot lie Max. You can take another, but I think we both know what the answer will be." She said, sounding aggravated.

We stood there for a few more minutes, not really knowing what to say. Tears started to gather in my eyes, and eventually spilled over. "If I had known that it was possible, we would have used protection, but who knew we were capable of reproducing? I mean, Ella, am I even ready to take care of another human life?" I asked, facing her.

She sighed. "Max, when a woman finds out she's pregnant, she hardly ever knows if she is ready or not, I know I wasn't. But you will feel better about it when Fang gets back." She said. Her words didn't make me feel any better. "When are you going to tell them? You know, the flock and Fang?" she asked.

"Well, Fang is due back tomorrow, I will tell him then. And maybe, we can have the flock over for dinner or something and we can tell them." I suggested.

"Or you can do it on Christmas. But I understand if that is too long of a wait." She said.

"No, not at all. It's only a couple of days." I told her, leaving the bathroom and getting my bag off of the table.

"Good idea. Take care. Don't lift anything too heavy today at work."

"Actually, I lied." I said, "I didn't need to work today. I just needed an excuse to get the tests fast; I couldn't wait any longer." I admitted.

Ella laughed. "Hey, remember that I know how it feels. Imagine having to drive to the drug-store and back before you found out." She said, handing me my keys.

I laughed too. I hugged her before I went outside and got in my car. I was pregnant.

The next day, I woke up late, but I still had my daily date with the toilet. After taking a hot shower, I got some breakfast out of the refrigerator. I ate nervously, glancing at the clock now and then, timing how long it was until Fang got here. 45 minutes, I started to pace in the living room, half hour, I had to get sick again, 15 minutes, I sat down to watch TV. No minutes, there was a knock on the door. I sprinted to the door, and there was Fang, standing there, arms heavily laidened with bags.

I threw my arms around him, and he dropped all of his suitcases and backpacks so he could wrap his arms around me. I nuzzled my head in his neck, and he kissed my slightly sweaty forehead.

"Oh, I missed you so much." He whispered. Fang pulled back and picked half of the luggage, stepping inside, leaving the rest of it for me.

I stood there, knowing it wasn't good to lift heavy stuff when you're pregnant. Fang took all of his stuff to my room, and came back, looking confused.

"Why do you have all of your stuff?" I asked.

"Well, I figured that it'd be easier if we moved in together." He said.

I sighed. Of course Fang would not think about talking about it with me first, but I knew that if I fought him about it, then told him about the baby, he would call me a hypocrite for not discussing children before actually ending up pregnant.

Fang picked up the rest of his luggage and headed back inside. I followed after him, closing the door behind me. I walked on his heels into the bedroom, where he started to unpack all of his clothing into an empty dresser drawer. I stood in the doorway, crossing my arms across my slightly larger chest. "Well, yeah, I figure it would be easier."

"We could have sex more." He said.

"What if we couldn't?" I asked. This is where it would begin.

He turned around. "For how long?" he asked.

"Eight months." I said quietly. Fang's eyes grew wide. "Fang, baby, listen, I never even wanted this to happen. I didn't know it was possible."

"Oh my God." He whispered. He walked away, running his hand threw his long hair. He looked out the windows. "Are you sure?" he asked.

"Four tests. All of them were positive." I said. There was a long silence. I walked toward him, reaching my hand toward him to touch his arm. "Fang, I'm twenty-five. I believe I am ready to handle this."

He turned toward me, and he was actually smiling. "I love you." He said.

**So that's it for chapter 5! Hope you all liked it. =) REVIEW PLEASE!**


	6. Chapter 6

A month went by, and you know how people are always talking about how those first-time mothers have that glow when they're pregnant? BULL SHIT! I knew what Ella meant by not wanting to be pregnant anymore, it was a pain. I was vomiting into the toilet every morning, I couldn't keep anything down, and I was the moodiest person alive. To make things worse, I was breaking out. Me! I had always had perfect skin.

And poor Fang had to live with me. That first night was wonderful when we just sat and talked about names, how his mission was, what color the nursery should be-I said creamy yellow, he said, not black but gray. Every morning he was right behind me, holding my hair as I puked. He would make the midnight store runs for food that I wanted and could actually keep down. He even put up with my moodiness. I do remember one morning where I was looking for some cereal while he sat at the kitchen table sipping his coffee and reading the newspaper.

"Are you useful for anything?" I half yelled at him.

He looked at me and shrugged, then went back to reading the paper.

I cussed under my breath, and then threw an empty cereal box at his head. Unfortunately, he had super-fast reflexes and deflected it before it could hit him.

"Go to the damn store and get me some damn cereal already!" I said.

Fang sighed and looked at me, waiting for more instructions.

"Well I was a fool for thinking you were good for anything aside from sex. God, I hate you so much!" I screamed, getting right in his face.

He sighed again. "Max, you do not hate me. You love me very much. And I'm getting my keys now and I'll go get you some Coco Puffs, okay?"

I huffed and stomped to my room, where I slammed the door behind me.

It turns out that when Fang got back from the store with my Coco Puffs, I didn't eat them. I didn't even want them anymore. Fang was my rock through the rough days, and my annoyance on the good ones.

Maggie pulled me out of my dream world by yanking my sleeve and telling me to get back to cleaning the knives that we use to chop up the fish we feed to the seals and penguins.

"Sorry. I was daydreaming." I said, shaking my head.

"You do that a lot these days." She said, elbowing me. "So when are you going on maternity leave?" Maggie asked.

"A couple weeks. There isn't much I can do here while I'm pregnant."

"So soon? I guess I'll have to come visit you then." She said, looking genuinely disappointed.

"I'll stop by, promise." I said, smiling.

Later that night, Iggy and Ella came over for dinner. Iggy ate quietly, like he usually did while he was in the presence of Fang at dinner. Ella and I talked while Fang pushed his food around on his plate, trying to ignore the awkwardness.

"So, Fang, I heard that Jeb is going to start paying you for the missions." Ella said, trying to make conversation.

"Well," I began, "Jeb thought that it's only fair since Fang had to quit his job in order to cover both his missions and mine." I said, stepping in.

Fang cleared his throat. "Yeah, it's been a pain, having to leave Max so often." He said, taking my hand from across the table.

Ella had sympathetic eyes, while Iggy had cold eyes. He looked at Fang with every ounce of hate he possibly could, and suddenly said, "Oh, yeah, it was really a pain when you left her ten years ago then."

"Iggy," Ella said in a warning tone.

"No Ella, he should feel bad about what he did. Did you know that Max almost didn't save the world because of you? She could barely get her butt out of bed, and if we all died it would have been your fault."

I looked down, and that's when I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. I clutched both my hands together and waited for the pain to pass. Ella noticed, and she stood up and grabbed my shoulders, trying to massage them. Fang didn't notice.

"I never doubted the fact that she could save the world. I knew that Max had the ability to put her heart aside and think with her head. I knew that she could save the world without me." Fang retorted, standing up, his napkin falling to the ground.

Iggy stood up too. "She barely saved the world without you!"

"What does it matter? She's forgiven me."

The pain somewhat subsided, but then came back, even worse than the first time. "Because she's stupid and listens to her heart. You think the others have forgiven you, but you're wrong. They all talk about you behind your back, and they don't even trust you. They are all waiting for the day you leave for a mission and never come back. I bet as soon as your bastard child is born you'll just pack up and ditch with all of your money."

"Iggy stop." Ella pleaded, sounding desperate while trying to soothe me. But the boys were too worked up to notice that anything was wrong.

"I'm not going anywhere. Max loves me, and I love her."

"You think she's told you everything? Well, obviously not, because then you would know that you weren't the only guy she was thinking about when you left." Iggy said.

I took a breath and spoke through the pain. "Iggy, shut up." I whispered.

"Exactly two years after you left she and I hooked up. I bet she didn't even tell you that she wasn't a virgin anymore that first time you two met after you ran away. Yep, we had sex. And she liked it." Iggy said, looking proud.

Fang gulped. "What?"

"That's right," Iggy said, as tears gathered in my eyes and spilled over. I couldn't believe the pain I was in, and it was getting worse every second, "she didn't lose her virginity to you. She lost it to me."

An enormous stab of pain hit, and I cried out. Ella rubbed my shoulders more, but it wasn't helping. My cry caught the boys' attention, and Fang ran to me, taking my face in his hands, looking at me, trying to get me to look him in the eye.

But I was too ashamed to look him straight in the eye, because Iggy was right, I had lied to Fang.

"Max, what's wrong?" I shook my head, shuddering.

Iggy backed away. "I need a drink." He said, running out of our apartment, launching himself off the balcony.

"Ella, do you have any idea what is going on with Max?" Fang asked.

Ella shook her head. "I'm sorry Fang, I don't. But, she could be having a miscarriage." She said.

I cried harder. I knew what that meant. That meant that my baby was dying and would be born prematurely.

"Get me to the damn hospital Fang." It was a strange request, seeing that we all hated hospitals, but I knew that this problem couldn't be fixed just by Mom and Jeb.

Fang nodded, picking me up and cradling me in his arms. Ella grabbed his keys and waddled out of our loft, while he picked up his wallet and my cell phone, carrying them and me out of the pad, and when we got to the parking lot, he put me in the back with Ella. He leaped into the front seat and sped out of the lot to the hospital.

"Ella, I need you to call your mom, tell her that something is wrong with Max." Fang said, flicking my cell phone over his shoulder.

Ella had been cussing under her breath over Iggy and shut up so she could talk to Mom. Fang did his best to soothe me from the front, but it wasn't working.

At one point though, when we pulled into the parking lot, I was in so much pain, that everything went black.

**So we finally find out why Iggy is pissed at Fang, but now Max is having issues. Also some shocks and twists. The whole Miggy thing just came to me as I was writing the argument, and I thought it would be an interesting twist. REVIEW please.**


	7. Chapter 7

The doctors in the ER had kicked Fang out of the room, so that they could figure out what was wrong with Max. They had already partly concluded that it was a miscarriage, but they had to make sure. Every minute, Max was in more pain. Fang would pace in the waiting room, practically pulling his hair out every time he heard Max scream or cry. Ella sat in one of the chairs with her head in her hands.

The flock arrived about ten minutes after Fang, Ella, and Max did. Shortly after though, Fang was called over to the side along with Dr. M.

One of the doctors, Dr. Snyder, spoke quickly and urgently. "Valencia, your daughter had a miscarriage." Dr. M put her hand over her mouth. "We think that she may have ruptured her pelvis in some place, which caused most of the pain. As soon as we find the area of tension, we will take her into surgery. But she has lost a lot of blood and she will need a transfusion before she goes into surgery, and she said that you, Nicholas, is the only one that can donate blood to her." Dr. Snyder said, looking at Fang.

"I'm one of five people that could, yes." Fang said.

"Then come with me please. She has requested that you get your blood drawn beside her, so that she can be closer to you." The doctor said, leading Fang into Max's room. She was turned on her side, her back and wings exposed by the hospital gown that was open in the back. She did look extremely pale.

Fang went to the other side of the bed to stroke her hair; her eyes were closed. It took a couple of strokes for her to open them. As soon as her eyes focused on his, they filled with tears. "Fang, I lost the baby." She whispered, while Fang sat beside her, tightly holding her hand and stroking her face as she cried.

Another doctor came in to take Fang's blood. He flinched at the brief stab of blood, and brought their entwined hands to his lips so he could kiss back of her hand. "How are you feeling, aside from…you know." He said, attempting a grim smile.

"I'll let you know after the surgery. That's when it'll matter anyway." Two sentences that were all Fang needed, because he knew that he would have really needed to worry if she only answered in one sentence.

"It matters to me now, and every other second." Fang pressed.

"Fang…"

He shook his head. The doctor finished taking his blood and was now preparing to give it to Max. "Sir, can you please leave the room?" the doctor asked.

Fang nodded, kissing Max on the forehead once, then on the lips, eventually leaving to go back out to the waiting room. He started to pace again, but Iggy stopped him. "Fang, I'm sorry for being so harsh to you before." He said, attempting to shake Fang's hand.

"You had every right to." Fang said, not returning the gesture.

"But you're gonna have to prove to me that I can trust you. You haven't left yet, and you really did show compassion for her tonight, but it's gonnna take something a lot bigger. And I'm not talking marriage." Iggy said before walking back to his seat beside Ella.

Fang stood there until he saw Dr. Snyder wheel Max out of her room. Fang had begun to feel lightheaded, probably from giving so much blood. Max did have more of a flush though, so it was worth it. He went over and walked alongside them, holding her hand tightly in his.

"I'll be right out here when you get out of surgery." He promised.

Max looked at him with misty eyes. "It hurts, it hurts Fang and I'm scared."

Fang knew that he was the only one she would admit it to. "It'll all be okay, the doctors are going to make everything all better." He lied. He knew it was a lie because Max would never be the same after this.

**I know, it's short. I'll try to make it longer if I can, but its difficult. Business is the key to a good life. Anyway, review please.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay, sorry it took me a while to update. I've just been busy with my other stories. So calm down and just make do with Fang: Part Three for now. On to Chapter 8!**

The time that Max was in surgery seemed to stretch on for ever and ever. The flock went down to the cafeteria to get something to eat. Fang sat with Dr. Martinez and attempted to make small talk with her, with little success. Both of them were a little preoccupied. But Fang did find himself wondering if Dr. M was mad at him though, for potentially taking Max's life away from her.

It had been two hours when she finally spoke to him. "I'm not mad at you by the way." She said, somehow knowing what he was thinking about. "It could have happened to anyone, and this happens everyday." She said, her voice sounding dead. Fang wasn't even sure if she was talking to him or not. "I went through it once. The first time Jeb and I tried to conceive. That was went we split up. We were together, but after this he left me. Two years later he showed up wanting me to take part in this science experiment that would change the world. It certainly changed the world for me. I went to vet school, where I learned all about birds and other avian beings. I also took a biology class to learn about genes and the recombinant DNA theory, but somehow in the midst of Ella's childhood, I forgot about my first daughter that had been taken from me. I knew she had wings, and I thought the only name that would ever be right for her would be Maximum Ride. Even as a newborn, she seemed to have that fierce look in her eyes, and the invincible way she looked at everyone and everything.

"And when she came back in my life that day she was shot, I hoped that through her I would be able to meet Jeb again. But the more I thought about him, the more David could tell that there was someone else, and he split just two weeks after Max came to me." She shook her head, staring blankly in front of her.

Fang had his hands folded in front of him, leaning over slightly. He looked over his shoulder at Dr. M, wanting to reach out and comfort, but not finding the strength to.

"I'm happy she has you back Fang. I know that you are not going to leave her, I trust you. It's just that you didn't see her after you left. She was so broken, it was a miracle when she saved the world. We were worried that she was just going to kill herself instead. But on the night of the banquet in Washington D.C. she broke down again. She lay in bed and didn't even bother to come out to say goodbye to us."

Fang remembered that night. He remembered her because he saw her that night. Fang had flown to Washington D.C. to see if she would be there, and he perched on the roof of the FBI building as he watched the limo go down the road to the National Archives, where the flock plus Dr. M and Ella got out and entered the building. He waited for Max to get out of the limo, and when he didn't see her he flew back to Dr. M's house. He made the trip in a day, and it was the next day, but she was still alone at her mom's house. He crept in Max's open window and sat by her bed as she slept. She muttered his name a few times and even proclaimed her love for him a couple times. One time she started to whimper and cry in her sleep, and Fang clasped her hand, but immediately regretted it. The crying stopped, and she smiled faintly and whispered his name once more. She opened her eyes, but before they could adjust, Fang was gone.

"I didn't mean to hurt her so much." Fang whispered. "I was hoping that with the note she would just move on, but it obviously had the opposite effect."

They sat in silence for a while, and eventually Iggy came back up to the waiting room with food for a sleeping Ella. He shook her awake, and she smiled at him and patted her bulging stomach before kissing him. He handed her a small boxed salad and sat down, putting his arm around her shoulders.

Fang looked away. That was something he and Max wouldn't have after all. They would never have the joy of having a child, or being new parents. They would never have those sleepless nights of feeding and changing diapers, they would never need to buy those extra boxes of cereal for their young child, they would never take their kid to their first day of school, and – Fang thanked God for this one – they would never need to have _the talk_ with their child.

Soon after Fang's mental breakdown, the doctors emerged from the doors and told the waiting flock and others that they could see Max.

Dr. M went in alone first, where she stayed for a while, and then when she came out the flock took her spot, including Ella. When they came out, Fang knew he couldn't avoid seeing just how damaged Max was any longer, and he took those steps to her room, shutting the door behind him.

She was lying propped up on some pillows, her eyes faintly closed. She heard him come in and opened her eyes. They were still sad, but somewhat focused. "It took you long enough." She whispered.

"You're not mad at me?" he asked, sitting on the side of her bed taking her hand.

"It's only going to hurt for a few days Fang." She said, narrowing her eyes.

Fang shook his head. "Physically, but aren't sad?"

"Of course. But this happens to people everyday Fang."

"If you're upset, you know you can talk to me."

Max laughed, and in her laugh he could hear the tears she was hiding. When he looked in her eyes, he knew just how shattered she really was. This wasn't going to be easy.

**I'll update ASAP, so don't threaten me or anything! Review! I'm not going to update unless I get more reviews. I MEAN IT! REVIEW!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks for the reviews guys! Appreciate it a lot!**

I got out of the hospital a week after my surgery. That week was probably the hardest week of my life, aside from the one after Fang left us. I knew I needed to hide my pain from him, because his sympathy just made me feel worse. I also knew that he saw right through my act. However, I was able to break down and cry when visiting hours were over. Although Fang would push his limits as much as possible and sneak those extra few minutes in until the doctors pushed him out. The first night he was permitted to stay in my room, but after that I would worry about him sneaking through the window in the middle of the night.

But one week later I was sitting on the sofa in my apartment looking at an uneaten bowl of ice cream in my lap. Fang sat down next to me, and looked between me and the spoon I was playing with in my hands. "Please eat something." He pleaded.

I still sat there looking at the ice cream.

"Max, it's strawberry, and it is thirty-six degrees, your favorite temperature to eat ice cream at." He said. "Strawberry is your favorite flavor, right?" he asked, his eyes widening.

"Do you still love me Fang?" I asked.

Fang kind of just sat there blinking for a couple seconds, so I went on.

"I understand if you don't. I mean, I told you I was pregnant, then it was king of just this one big 'Sike!' and there's the whole thing about me not being a virgin when we saw each other again, and I totally understand if you hate me now. Don't let me hold you back. You can move out, and…and…" I was starting to cry.

Fang wiped my tears away with his thumbs. "Max, honey, stop. Stop." He said, turning my head so I could look at him. He held my face in his large hands for a few moments. "Just stop. You are being ridiculous. Of course I still love you. I will never stop loving you, and even when I am mad at you I will still love you."

"Really? So you're not upset at all?" I asked, totally disbelieving.

"Of course I am upset. I'm actually pissed, because this had to happen to us. We have already been through so much; I can't stand anymore drama. But I have room to be more upset."

"Good." I said, taking my ice cream bowl, standing up, and laughing at his amused expression. Without warning, I flipped the bowl upside-down on Fang's head, dumping out all seven scoops, and quickly stepped back.

Fang wiped the frosty dessert out of his eyes, swearing under his breath. "Brain freeze, dammit!" he looked at me with an expression that me stepping back quickly. "It is so on." He said, before lunging at me and grabbing me around my waist and throwing me over his shoulder. He carried me over to the sink and put me in, pinning me down as he used the hose to squirt me with freezing cold water.

I jumped out and found the small jar on the counter containing the gummy bears, and threw all of them at him. He opened the fridge and took out the ketchup bottle. "You wouldn't." I dared.

"Oh yes, and I am." He said, flipping the bird at me before squirting most of the bottle at me. I grabbed the chocolate syrup off the counter and did the same to him. He took out a jar of soy sauce I got from the Chinese place and dumped it on my head. I ran to the bathroom to get his shaving cream when he went in the other door and got me with a whole bag of peanuts. I got him back by throwing a jar of bath seltzers at him, and finally I grabbed the shower hose and aimed it at him. But the floor got so slippery; I ended up flopping over onto my back, Fang falling right on my back.

I had been laughing so hard the whole time, my already sore stomach muscles ached. I lay there, trying to get a breath, while he did the same while burying his face in my hair. We laid there for a while, but eventually he started to kiss my neck.

I bolted up, making Fang topple over. He sat up, propping his elbows up on his knees and running his hands through his hair. "You don't want to have sex." He stated. He didn't ask; he just knew what I was thinking.

I knelt beside him. "No, baby, it's not that. It's just…I think we should wait." I told him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "A month, at least, just so I can get the pill from my mom and get on it."

"Max, I talked to the doctors while you were asleep one day." Fang confessed. "They said that maybe they can run some tests, tell us when it would be best to…well, they said when you are most fertile." He said.

"Oh." I said, looking down. "You know Fang, maybe I don't want to try again."

Fang nodded and swallowed. "I understand. But why not? Are you scared that this will happen again?"

"I don't know."

"Max, it's like flying. If you fall you just jump back into the air and try again."

I nodded, knowing he was right.

"And if you are really that reluctant, we can always adopt."

I nodded again, even though I realized that one crucial piece was missing. I wanted to spend my life with him, and he was ready to do the same with me. So why hadn't he asked me to marry him yet?

**Okay, short, I know. But this chapter was difficult to write, I don't know why. Okay, so you know what I'm going to say, REVIEW…please. It's that little button right underneath of here.**


	10. Chapter 10

I returned to work a couple months later, on the day of Fang's and mine four month anniversary. It also happened to be the day before Ella and Iggy's wedding anniversary. Anyway, I had a good day at work, just talking and having fun with friends, but when I got home and found the apartment dark, I started to panic. I thought Fang said that he had the day off.

"Fang?" I called out, with no reply.

I walked into the kitchen and gasped. There in the middle of the kitchen was a table, with two lit pillar candles and two place settings. I went to the one with a single red tulip laying on it, and breathed in the fresh scent. There was a small note sitting on the plate beside the red tulip.

_Max, a little bird-kid (Nudge) told me that red tulips mean everlasting love. Happy anniversary. Love always, Fang._

I laughed hysterically for a moment, and then the bedroom door behind me opened, and Fang walked out, holding a bouquet of twenty-four red tulips. "I've also heard that twenty-four is love's lucky number. I believe it, because we were both twenty-four when we fell in love again."

Walking up to him and taking the tulips I said, "Well, you were twenty-five. And I never fell out of love with you." I pointed out.

"Point taken." He laid the tulips down a nearby table so he could wrap his arms around my waist.

"You went to all of this trouble to seduce me?" I asked as he kissed my neck.

I felt him smile on my cheek. "Sure. It's worth it, trust me."

"I do." I breathed, rubbing his shoulders with my hands.

"We haven't had sex in four weeks and two days. I've been counting. You're practically a virgin by now." He said, laughing.

I sighed, enjoying the feeling of Fang's arms around once again. It hadn't been that long, but long enough for me to need to go to Ella's place again for another few pregnancy tests. By now, sex with Fang was just second-nature, and sometimes we get so fed up with it we don't do it for a few weeks.

Fang picked me up and laid me down on the bed, his body on mine. He unbuttoned my shirt, and slowly moved down to the end of the bed so he could take off my shoes. When he creeped back on top of me, I took off his shirt and had just gotten started on pulling his jeans down when I felt sick.

I pushed him off of me with enough force to make him fall off the bed and hit the wall, knocking the TV off of its stand. I sprinted into the bathroom with all the bird-woman speed I could muster up, and puked into the toilet. I was busy for the next few minutes, and Fang stood holding back my hair and stroking my back.

I sat back against the tub, pulling my knees up to my chest. Looking up, I saw Fang standing in front of me with a very worried expression on his face. "Is there something you would like to tell me?"

"Umm…I'm pregnant." I said, smiling to try to lighten the tension in the room.

"Since when?"

I stopped smiling, and narrowed my eyes. "How am I supposed to know? I'm assuming that it was four weeks ago, considering I had a miscarriage the month before." Fang's face closed up; it was the first time we had actually talked about it.

"What happened to being on the pill?" he asked.

"I was, but it must not work for us female bird kids. What's your excuse? I thought you always use condoms?" I accused.

"You know I do. Protection must not work on bird kids at all." He said, shrugging. There was an awkward silence, and I knew what Fang was about to say when he opened his mouth. "Max, you can get an abortion."

I stared at him for what seemed like forever. "You know, I did ask Jeb if that was at all possible, but he told me it wasn't. He said that we can't do it without damaging one of my central air sacs, which would effect my flying permanently." I told him.

"Holy crap." Fang said, sinking down beside me. We both stared straight ahead. "So we have to do this." He whispered. I heard his teeth grinding together.

"Yep, I guess so." I replied. This officially closed the conversation, but the shrill ring of the phone brought us back to reality.

Fang helped me up and went to go answer the phone. While we were talking in the bathroom, a thunderstorm had come up and it was now pouring buckets outside. Lightning split the sky in half.

"Hello?" Fang answered the phone. "Hey man, what's up?...Really?...Wow, that is truly amazing…Yeah, Max is grabbing her jacket and the keys now…" he said, looking at me pointedly. "Okay…We're on our way. Congrats Dad." I heard Fang say from the closet.

"What is it?" I asked, emerging from the walk-in closet holding my jean jacket and his leather jacket, holding the keys to the car out to him.

"Ella just went into labor. Gazzy is driving Iggy and Ella to the hospital."

**Cliffy again, I know. I'll update ASAP. Promise! Oh, and review…please.**


	11. Chapter 11

Lightning split the sky in half as we jumped in the car. It had started to rain, and we only ran fifty feet to the car, but that still got us soaked to the bone. When we were in the car I got a towel from the backseat while Fang shoved the key into the ignition. I wiped myself dry as best as I could, and Fang sped down the busy highway.

"You can slow down a bit you know. Nobody is in labor here." I told him, wiping rain off of his jacket and dabbing at his forehead. He shook his head, silently making me stop while he took a break from cursing the weather and everything else. I looked at the speedometer and silently freaked out. "Seriously Fang, slow down." I pleaded while he dangerously swerved around the people going at the speed limit. We were going over one hundred miles per hour.

There was a popping sound from the front of the car and then smoke came out while the car slowed down and Fang pulled onto the shoulder of the road. "Damn everything in this bloody world." He said, pulling the hood of the sweatshirt up as he put on his leather jacket. "Stay here." He told me, so I got out with him.

The rain was still falling so fast and hard that it hurt, but the hood of the car offered some shelter. When we lifted it, smoke poured out. I held the hood up while Fang bent over the engine and checked everything over. "Shit." He said. "We aren't going anywhere in a while."

I pulled out my cell phone and held it up. "No bars for me, you?"

"Nothing." He said, putting away his own cell phone.

We climbed back into the car, taking turns drying ourselves off. We sat there in silence for a while, and eventually Fang spoke in a somber tone. "I think we need to talk."

"Talk about what?" I asked.

"Talk about how badly your breath smells right now." he said, laughing as he pulled out a bag of mints and offering me one before he took one out for himself.

I laughed too, popping in the mint, and we were still laughing when a familiar looking car pulled over in front of us. Mom got out in a rain jacket and ran to us. "Need a lift?" she asked.

"Yes please." I said. We got in Mom's car and saw Angel in the backseat, while Nudge was in the front. Fang and I sat with our feet looped around each other.

We were quiet for the drive to the hospital, and when we got there we all ran in. Fang and I led our way to the delivery ward, where there was a large waiting room with people all squeezed in. There was a corner with six chairs saved, Gazzy in the middle of them. Nudge ran up to him, kissing him on the cheek and pulling him out of his chair so she could hug him. Angel stood there awkwardly, before looking at me. "I need a boyfriend." She mumbled, sitting down in one of the plastic chairs, crossing her arms.

I caught Mom's eye and I nodded over to the desk where another receptionist sat. She nodded and went over. I touched Fang's sleeve on his jacket. "I'm gonna go check on Ella, wanna come with me?" I asked.

He rubbed my back soothingly. "Of course." We walked to where Mom was waiting for me, Fang holding me.

"She's in room 2566." Mom said, sounding sick with worry.

We walked down the hallway to Ella's room. When we got in there, we saw Iggy sitting on the bed next to Ella, clutching her hand. He looked up at us, relief smoothing out the worry lines on his forehead. "Thank God." He whispered, quietly enough so that Ella wouldn't hear him. I walked forward to wrap my arms around Iggy in a comforting embrace while Mom went to give Ella a hug.

"How are you doing sweetheart?" Mom asked Ella.

She grimaced. "Okay. The doctors say that I still have a while to go, but the contractions are getting pretty bad." She said.

"Just hang in there honey." Mom said to her, wiping hair from Ella's sweaty forehead.

Ella's squealed as she got a contraction, and she gripped Mom's hand. I looked away. Fang tugged on my shoulder and pulled me out of the room. "Are you sure you want to see this?" he asked.

"Of course. She's my sister Fang." I told him, not completely sure what he meant.

"No, I mean, you're not gonna get freaked by the fact you have to go through it in eight months?" he clarified.

So that is what he meant. "I'll be fine. It's not like I'm a masochist, but I am okay with pain. I've had worse."

"You don't know that."

"Well neither do you." I retorted. We stood there for a couple minutes while doctors went in and out of Ella's room. "I'm sorry. I'm just kind of moody from all of this. Maternal hormones." I said.

Fang smiled as he leaned against the wall, looking so hot in his leather jacket, black sweatshirt, jeans and boots, especially the way his hair swept across his forehead. Mom came out then.

"You guys don't need to stay out here." She told us.

I nodded. "Yeah, we know."

"I'm gonna go downstairs, get something to eat. Ella called before I could eat dinner, so I am starving." Mom said. "You two can come too."

"We'll be right behind you." Fang told her, putting his arm around me.

I started to feel sick again. "Max, you don't look good honey. Are you feeling okay?" Mom asked me.

"I'm fine Mom." I assured her.

Mom looked at me for a while, long enough for me to feel awkward. "Oh my God." Mom whispered.

"Mom, what's wrong?" I asked, looking into Ella's room.

"You're…no…no way…you…Max, are you pregnant again?" Mom whispered.

I didn't know what to tell her and was saved from Iggy poking his head out the door. "Excuse me, but I think I heard someone mention food? And Max being pregnant again. Congrats dude." He told Fang quickly.

"We'll pick up some food for you Iggy, don't worry." I told him, smiling.

Iggy gave me a big hug. "Take it from me, go easy on Fang. He'll say stupid stuff, and he won't understand what it's like for a couple months. But once you get fat and just unattractive in general, he'll stop being so stupid." Iggy told me.

"If I even make it that far Ig." I reminded him. "But I'll keep that in mind. Just be ready to save his ass at some point." I said, laughing.

**So I guess Max's secret is out. Don't forget to press that little link right below this, that says 'Review this chapter' on it. Please. REVIEW.**


	12. Chapter 12

The hours stretched on as Ella's labor progressed. I couldn't tell who felt more sick than me though, Fang or Iggy. Fang got progressively paler with the more time we spent in Ella's room, and Iggy was finding any excuse to go outside and catch his breath. Fang told me that it was just because Iggy thought Ella was in more pain than she really was due to his lack of seeing her.

My sickness was more out of apprehension though. I wanted more than anything to get to the point in my life where I get to take my baby home, feed her, get pissed at Fang due to lack of sleep, buy them cereal, take them to their first day of school, but as I went through the parenting responsibilities my excitement went away when I realized we would have to give them the "talk." There was one bright spot in my future though, and he was standing right next to me with his arms around my waist.

As if Fang knew that I was thinking about him, he bent his head to kiss my hair. I looked up at him and smiled. Taking a hand that was still attached to my hip, I led him into the hospital room. Mom looked up at us; she was definitely showing her age that night. It seemed like she had more gray hairs, maybe even more wrinkles around her eyes. She patted Ella's hand and got up.

"She just got her epidural. The doctors say that she should get some sleep to get some energy back." Mom whispered to me.

"How is she doing overall though?" I asked, watching Iggy kiss her forehead and pull her hair back from her face using a hair-tie. She looked up at him and whispered something that I couldn't catch, but it must have been funny because he laughed. Or maybe he was just trying to brighten her spirits. But soon she was laughing too. Iggy squeezed her hand and walked through us and collapsed against the wall.

"That's our cue." Mom told Fang and I as she turned to walk out.

I looked over my shoulder at Ella, surprise to see that she was already asleep. Fang rubbed my back reassuringly before closing the door behind us. I patted Iggy's shoulder. "How are you doing buddy?" I asked him.

"I didn't know that not seeing anything could make me sick." He said through his hands that he had covering his face.

I smiled grimly. "Well, if it makes you feel better, seeing it is making me sick."

"Yeah, but you don't count. You're pregnant. You get sick at everything." Iggy half-joked.

I laughed though, "I know that."

Fang walked away to the bathrooms and Mom had drifted over to the waiting area that didn't seem as crowded as it was earlier. Iggy sighed and I leaned against the wall next to him. "Max," Iggy began, "Can I ask you something?"

"It better not be a proposal because you're married already."

Iggy laughed and shook his head. He looked at me, well no, he looked at my right ear, but it was close enough. "I like you when you're pregnant. You're funny."

"I'm just in a good mood. There's a difference."

Iggy smiled, but then frowned. "Max, do you think I'll make a good dad?"

I was caught off guard by his question, and I didn't know how to answer at first. I wasn't sure what a good dad was, especially with my father's track record. "Well, Iggy, I don't know. Do you think you'll make a good dad?"

"I just don't know. I mean, I'm blind. How will I be able to help Ella with everything? I can't change diapers." He tacked on as an afterthought.

I laughed, not even sure if I remembered how to change diapers. I had learned because of Angel, but I was still eight years old. That's seventeen years later. "Well, from what I remember, you don't really need to see anything. In fact, it's probably better that you don't. It's just smell that's a problem." I admitted.

"Do you really think I'll make a good father?"

I laughed again. "Iggy, why are you even doubting the fact that you would make a good father? You are an amazing guy, my mom is lucky to have you as a son-in-law, I'm lucky to have you as a brother-in-law, Ella is lucky to have you as a husband, and your child is lucky to have you as a father." I told him, playfully punching his arm.

"And Fang is lucky to have you Max." Iggy added. This caught me off my guard, not expecting him to say something about me. "We are all lucky to have you Max. Ten years ago, when everyone was freaking out about you not thinking with your head, and you were thinking with your heart…well, I think it was best that you thought with your heart." Iggy paused, and I was about to butt in, but he waved me off. "I know things were rocky back then, with you and your depression and everything, but in the end you thought with your heart and you actually saved the world."

I smiled. "I'm smiling Iggy." I said quietly. I was honestly flattered, and I knew why Ella loved him so much. Granted, I had seen him be all sweet and kind to Ella, but never to me.

Fang came back from chatting with my mom keeping his hands in his pockets. He put his arm around my shoulders when he reached us. "Hey, how are you holding up man?"

"I still feel kind of sick." Iggy admitted. "But Max made me feel better. You are truly lucky to have her."

"You don't need to tell me that." Fang smiled, and bent his head to peck me on the lips, but I quickly turned it into something more. Fang was getting harder and harder, more resisting to the kiss. He bit down on my bottom lip, and I pulled back in protest. "Ow!" I said loudly, making a couple doctors going by look over at us.

"Well I don't think right now is the time or place Max. And maybe we should tone it down since you are currently not in good stable condition for sex." Fang told me sternly.

"We were not having sex, we were making out." I pointed out.

He put his finger on my lips to shush me. "No." he said, and my heart sank. What was he saying 'no' to?


	13. Chapter 13

The next morning, we welcomed little Effie Elizabeth Martinez into the world. She had light tan skin with blonde hair. Her eyes were big and brown. Ella held her in a pink blanket and beanie while people went in and out. A few of her old friends from college came and visited, the flock came in periodically, Fang, Mom, Iggy and I just stayed in there. Fang hardly ever took his hands off of me the whole night, but now I was leaning against him for support. I had my head tilted back leaning on his shoulder, and he had his arms wrapped around my waist basically supporting all of my weight. My feet were practically off the floor.

He kissed me hair. "I should get you home."

I shook my head and took out my camera that I had gotten from Mom on my twenty-third birthday. "Picture time guys!" I called, pushing away from Fang to get a picture of Effie, Iggy, and Ella all together, Effie asleep in Ella's arms while Iggy looked down at Ella and Ella looked down at Effie. The next picture was of just Iggy and Effie and then Ella and Effie.

Ella looked up at me. "Okay Max, I want a picture with you and Mom." She told me, ready to fight me because she knew I was about to say no.

I shook my head and walked over to stand on the opposite side of the bed as Mom. We smiled as Fang snapped the picture. We dispersed as Mom took Effie again so that Ella could rest some more. Nudge came walking in the room.

"I'm gonna drive everyone home. We're all tired and Gazzy, Angel and I have finals to study for."

Ella smiled. "Okay, well thanks for being here guys, you didn't need to stay the whole night."

"Ella, don't be so ridiculous. You're like a sister to me." Nudge said.

Fang hugged Nudge goodbye before going to Iggy to shake his hand and whisper something in his ear that nobody else heard. Iggy looked petrified for a couple seconds, then punched Fang's arm playfully. "Don't say that man." Iggy said, and then whispered, "That's why I was hoping for a girl anyway." Ella probably didn't hear it though.

They both laughed, and Fang sighed. "Yeah, I should get Max home." He said aloud like I was not there. "Bye guys. Congrats Ella."

"Thanks Fang." Ella said, taking Effie from Mom.

Iggy smirked and squeezed me in a big bear hug. "Try not to throw up on the way home in the car, okay kid?" he asked me.

I gave him a sour look and opened my mouth to tell him off about calling me a kid when I'm six months older than him, but Ella talked over me. "Why would she be throwing up in the car?" You could see the light bulb go on in her head. "Oh my gosh! Congrats Max!" she squealed.

"Yeah, man what's wrong with you?" Iggy asked. "You should be telling your own fiancé congrats, not my wife!" he said jokingly.

I looked down and Fang glanced at me briefly before flicking his gaze to the ceiling, obviously avoiding looking at me.

"What did I say?" Iggy exclaimed, noticing the awkward silence.

Fang cleared his throat and spoke in a low, quiet tone. "Max is my girlfriend."

"Oh. Sorry, I just figured since you two live together and you are gonna have a kid, you'd be getting married."

"Yeah, we're not going to get married." Fang said quickly.

This was news to me, as it was to Ella and Mom. Their eyes were about to fall out of their heads, but I had to keep a straight face, despite the tears that were gathering. I didn't have the energy to fight him on it, so I just left the room with Fang by my side.

I fell asleep during the drive home, we took Mom's car, and Fang would drop it off at the hospital when he got our car fixed that day. Fang carried me to my apartment and fished my keys out of my pocket of my jacket and got us inside, laying me down on our bed.

I woke up a few hours later, after having an unnaturally dreamless sleep. I sat up to fast when I woke up and had to sprint to the bathroom to throw up. Fang was there seconds behind me, and I handed him a ponytail holder to pull my hair back. He rubbed my back as I puked for a few minutes. It hurt; it had been a while since I had eaten, so I was mostly just throwing up body fluids.

Fang handed me a cup of water when I was done, and I downed it like it was a shot of tequila. I collapsed against his chest, and he carried me back to our bed. I was praying that he would stay and just lay with me, but he got up and left. I looked over at the clock on the dresser; it was eight o'clock at night, and I was starving.

I walked out to the kitchen and got a few pieces of cold pizza that Fang must have ordered earlier that night. I asked him if he wanted anything but he just grunted and mumbled a no. I sighed, taking this as a bad sign, and took my pizza back into the bedroom where I ate it. I watched TV for about twenty minutes, but I was tired again, so I fell back asleep.

When I opened my eyes in the morning, I felt sick. Not because of morning sickness but because Fang didn't sleep with me that one night, and he was nowhere to be found in the apartment. Some of his clothes were gone. And his backpack. One of my good switchblades was missing, and a whole box of energy bars. There was a note. Another damned note from Fang explaining why he had left.

_Max,_

_ I'm sorry to do this to you again. I just need some time to think alone for a while. I need to work through some things, so just let me go until I come back. I don't know when that will be, but I promise it won't be more than one year._

_ -Fang_

_P.S. Tell Iggy that he was right about me._

**What does Fang mean by 'tell Iggy that he was right about me'? well, I'm not going to tell you now! Oh, and Fang's gone again. That's cool. Just awesome. Really amazing. Anyway, you know the routine. Read, which you just did, so now you need to review.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Due to angry reviews, I am posting a new chapter. –sighs- you people will be the death of me. Making me write while Vampire Diaries is on, well then….whatever, next chapter. And please no more threatening me.**

Mom called that afternoon, after I had my date with the toilet alone. I didn't answer the phone. I literally sat at the kitchen table with my coffee mug in one hand, and had my tear-stained face buried in the inside of my elbow, with a tissue box close by, feeling sorry for myself. The worst part was I had Fang sitting in front of me. You see, after we had saved the world, this big toy company made action figures of the flock, including Dylan and Fang even though both of them were MIA at the time, so I had Fang's action figure sitting in front of me, staring at me. I had to have the worst luck in the whole world. Who gets dumped by their soul mate twice, not including when their soul mate dies? Me. That's who. Nobody else in the whole world gets dumped twice by their destined partner.

The phone rang again. This time it was Gazzy, telling me that he was dropping off my car in the next twenty minutes with Nudge. "Damn you Gazzy. Damn that stupid car. Damn you stupid hormones. AND DAMN YOU FANG!" I shouted throwing the doll at the far wall, making a satisfying dent in it. I collapsed onto my hands and knees, sobbing, and then slid down to sit and curl into a ball. That's how Gazzy and Nudge found me.

I heard them knock, and they knew I was in here, but they were smart and knew that if no one had answered yet something was terribly wrong. They burst through the door, weapons drawn, and it took Nudge one second to see me. She ran to me and crouched down to wrap her arms around my shaking shoulders. Gazzy picked up the Fang doll and saw the dent. Making an _I love girls, but why do the have to be so melodramatic?_ face, he put the doll on the counter. He continued to stand in the kitchen and I noticed him standing there for a while. He put something that he'd been holding down on the table and he knelt down in front of me.

The Gasman took my face into his hands, looking me in the eye, asking, "Max, how long has Fang been gone?" I felt Nudge go tense and tight, then soften again as she rubbed my shoulders.

I shrugged. Gazzy got back up and went into the bedroom where he looked into the closet, obviously observing how many of his clothes were missing, then proceeded into the bathroom where he emerged seconds later. "Well, I have good news and bad news: good news is that he can't stay gone long because he left his entire stash of condoms and he left his shaving cream that smells like chocolate and propane. The bad news…"

"Gazzy." Nudge said, cutting him off. It was all she needed to say to shut him up. He sighed and knelt down on my other side and put his arm around my shoulders too. They both pulled me up off the floor and Gazzy took me to the car while Nudge got a backpack full of clothes for me out of my closet and grabbed my keys.

On the way to Mom's house, I heard them whispering. "At least we know what to do this time." Gazzy said.

"It's going to be even worse though. She was probably confident that he would never leave her again." Nudge said.

"I've already called Iggy. He's pissed at Fang."

"Is he pissed at Fang or himself?" Gazzy didn't answer, so Nudge kept going. "I heard from Dr. M that Iggy mentioned something about Max being Fang's fiancé, and she said that he completely shot down any idea that he and Max would be getting married." Oh Nudge, the gossip mill.

Gazzy was quiet as he pulled into Mom's driveway. She came out of the house and hugged me tightly as soon as I was out of the car. I buried my face in her shoulder, crying even harder. She rubbed my back in between my wings, as I heard Gazzy filling her in. But her response was what bothered me most.

When Gazzy was finished with explaining the note to her, she said, "Again? How many times does he have to leave her to get her to marry him?" If I wasn't suspicious already, I mind would have exploded with suspicion. What the hell were they talking about?

**Sounds like everyone is keeping a secret from Max. But what is it? Review and you'll find out.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey. I'm back. Scratch what I said about updating every three days, I don't feel like doing that and keeping track. **

Two months later, when I was three months pregnant, I had another miscarriage. I had been excited about the pregnancy; the baby was the only thing of Fang's I would still have. Iggy made sure to the clothes that Fang had left and he had a little bonfire extravaganza in his backyard where he burned the clothes and anything else that Fang had left.

I didn't suffer any severe injuries this time, so the doctors told me I could go in twenty-four hours. My mom sat with me the whole time, and kept apologizing for Ella's absence. I understood; Ella had to stay home with Effie. Iggy came and was there for the first few hours, and then left.

I slept for I guess what was a while, because I had gone to sleep when it was light, and woke up when it was completely dark. When I had woken up, I noticed that Mom wasn't in the room. I heard hushed voices outside my room though. I couldn't pick up on much, but I did catch parts.

"Why are you here?"

"…all over the news…sooner, I just didn't hear….swear I didn't tell a soul…"

"…should go before she knows…"

"Your presence doesn't help anyone…"

"…could have died…could have blamed you…"

"…would not have known…and if she did…you don't know that…"

Who was that arguing? And did they say that this mess was all over the news. Everything was too fuzzy for me to match voices with names, but there was one that brightened my mood. It sounded like him, but I knew it wasn't. Though, if it was all over the news, he would've heard…No, he left me in this mess, why would he care enough to come back?

* * *

I went back to work a couple weeks later. Everything had gone back to normal. I was back in my apartment after staying at Mom's for those two lonely months, I was only away from work for a month so everyone welcomed me back with hugs, smiles, and sympathy, just like the first time.

Maggie was excited though, and was constantly trying to find a bright side from all of my failures. For example, my third day back she started to talk about it when we were cleaning the zebra stalls.

"At least, you can be here full-time again." She said smiling at me from over a barrier, so all I could see was her face. "And then you can see me more."

"Well, no offense Maggie, but unless you have a gun behind that wall, you are not going to suffice." I told her, avoiding her gaze.

She shrugged and mumbled as she went back to her work. "You know, I am going out with Michael, Derek, Ben, and Sandy tonight. You should come."

"Please Maggie, you're just trying to hook me up with Derek." I told her.

"Well, it's been a couple months; maybe you should put yourself on the market." She told me.

"Maggie, it's been a couple months since the man I thought I would be marrying and having lots of children with left. That is not long enough for me to get over it."

"Either way, you should still come. You know, go out clubbing with us again, like you used to. It's been a while, and I'm sure no one in your family would offer you to go out to the most amazing club ever: Inferno!" Maggie prompted.

I looked up at her, light in my eyes. "Inferno? I am so coming!" I said, laughing.

"I'll pick you up at eight, dress like someone that is single."

I rolled my eyes as she walked away.

* * *

I woke up the next morning with the biggest hangover. Where was I? Oh right, when I was drunk everyone brought me here. Oh God, Mom was probably worried sick. What time was it? Oh God, that light hurt. Holy crap, there is someone else in this bed…where are my clothes?

I bolted out of the bed, picking up my clothes that were scattered around the room. I would be lucky if I didn't get pregnant. The guy in the bed stirred and turned over, opening his eyes…

"Mags?" he moaned.

Crap. I slept with Maggie's boyfriend, who I had to work with for the rest of my life, and possibly deal with a child of his for the rest of my life. But I did whatever could cause the least amount of damage and prayed to God that he was too hung-over to notice the difference in voices. "Uh, yeah Michael?" I whispered.

"I don't feel good." He mumbled, before vomiting over the side of the bed.

"Okay, that's it." I said, sprinting out of the apartment. "I'm so done."

I flew to my apartment at my top speeds, not caring if I was seen. I got in after fumbling with my keys. I soon as I was in the kitchen I threw my purse down on the table and walked to the bedroom, stripping my clothes off as fast as I could. At least, until I noticed I wasn't alone in the apartment.

"Max." he said.

And do you know what I said? Wait for it…keep waiting… "Oh my God. It's you."

**So who is it? Any guesses? Because I guarantee that you're wrong. Tell me who you think it is in your reviews. So…review please!**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~ **


	16. Chapter 16

**Happy 4****th**** of July to all of my fellow Americans! Woot woot! I love this holiday, for one thing you don't have to worry about school, but you can have good food too. Haha. ~PennStateGRL4eva~**

Was I really seeing this? Was I still asleep? Did I crash last night on the way back to Maggie's place and die, and now I'm in Hell? Was I still drunk?

"Did I come at a bad time?" Dylan asked.

I blinked and shook my head in a frustrating manner. "Define 'bad.'"

He looked down. "I…I know it's been a while…"

"Yeah, eleven years. How did you get in here?"

"I came through the windows."

I turned around to go into the kitchen to get breakfast. "Okay Edward Cullen, let's pretend that answer is actually true. Why would you be so desperate to speak to me that you would climb through the window?" I asked, not looking at his incredibly good looks.

"I was thinking about you last night. I thought it is time for a visit."

I shook my head as I took a bowl of cereal to the kitchen table. "Again, let's pretend that answer is true. So how has life been to you? Because life hates me." I asked.

"You're drunk." He said simply. "I guess I'll just wait until you sober up a bit to talk to you."

"I'm not drunk." I said in a silly tone. "Okay, maybe a little bit." I admitted.

He smiled before getting up and kissing me.

Ten hours later, I was allowed to say that I had sex with two different men in 24 hours, neither of them being my boyfriend. Both times I was drunk. Both times were unprotected.

"Shit." I muttered when I noticed this. Then I noticed Dylan's wedding ring, and I cussed again, only a much different word. Dylan woke up and saw me curled up in a ball, head in my hands. I knew he was awake, so I started interrogating him. "Dylan, how long have you been married?"

"Four years." Crap. That's longer than I had thought.

"Children?"

"Twins, they're three and I have a one-year-old too."

I groaned and stood up, stretching. "Look, Dylan, why are you here? Because if it's to knock me up, I hate to break it to you but I can't have kids."

"Yeah, I know." I shot him a look. "It's all over the news. I went to the hospital, but the flock was furious that we were there, so we left without seeing you."

" 'We?'" I asked in a squeaky voice.

"I've been…in touch with Fang lately." Dylan admitted.

"I knew it!" I shouted suddenly, making him jump. "I knew he was there at the hospital that night!" I sat down on the sofa frustrated. "Damn. Why would he let the flock stop him from seeing me?"

Dylan shrugged and was quiet for a long time, too long.

"You know something, don't you?" I accused. "Don't you?" I pressed. "What did that jackass say to you?"

"Damn Max. I don't remember you talking like a sailor last time Fang left." Dylan stated.

"Seriously Dylan. Don't change the subject. Oh, and by the way, I was younger and he didn't promise to be back in a year or so then. It was twenty years." I informed him.

"If you let me finish, I was going to tell you not to call him a jackass because you don't know why he left."

I opened my mouth to reply, but he cut me off. "He left because he wants to marry you."

"What? That's impossible…"

"The guy is in love with you Max! Why wouldn't he want to marry you?"

I shook my head. "He said we're not going to get married himself, and if he left he doesn't love me as much as he said he does…"

"Max!" Dylan yelled. "Are you not listening to me? He is doing all of this because he wants to marry you, but he doesn't want to ask you himself. Fang said that you two weren't going to get married in the hopes that you would confront him about it later and propose to him then."

"Fang? Scared of just asking someone a simple question?" I asked in disbelief.

"Think about it Max. You guys have never been able to just settle down, so it's a big deal when you guys get married and stay put in one place." Dylan reminded me. "I was nervous myself when I asked Alyssa to marry me. I knew that marrying someone meant that you love them unconditionally."

"Fang doesn't love me unconditionally. He ditched me when I was pregnant, probably knowing that I would have another miscarriage." I said, not believing a word Dylan was telling me.

"Yes, but he stuck through it with you the first time. He was ready to a second time, but he wanted to as your husband, not your boyfriend. Think of all you have done in your life that he has forgiven you for." I did, but I didn't come up with much. Dylan could tell by my expression. "Remember that day on the beach when you tried to cut that chip out yourself, almost killing yourself?" I nodded. "Fang forgave you for that. He also forgave after kissing that guy back in Virginia. And what about when you chose your little brother over Fang? Oh, and don't forget that time…"

"Okay, I think we all get it. I've made a lot of mistakes in life and Fang has forgiven every single one of them." I said hurriedly.

"That's unconditional love; loving someone no matter what they do. Because at the end of the day, you always have to forgive them, because your love for them is far greater than your anger, fear, or hate." He said.

"Wow Dylan. Being a father has really softened you up." I whispered.

"Yeah, I know. What do you say? Ready to see Fang?" Dylan asked.

I nodded, feeling my eyes well up with tears. "Max, don't cry so soon. Save the tears for when you kill him for doing this to you." Dylan told me. I actually laughed and nodded.

We flew to the Rockies, and Dylan pointed downward to a small cave. "I'm gonna leave now. He knows his way back."

I didn't thank Dylan or anything; I hoped to see him again to be able to do that.

I saw Fang as soon as I was in the cave. I walked right up to him and planted my feet, putting my hands on my hips. "Marry me. I will not leave this cave until you say yes. So you better, because I was hoping to die in my sleep and not of starvation—" I was cut off by Fang kissing me. He had my face held tightly in his hands.

"Has anyone ever told you that you talk too much?" Fang asked.

"I'll keep talking until you give me an answer if I have to-"

Fang smiled widely. "Well, then you'll never hear me reject you will you?" he asked. But I didn't believe him. He was smiling too much, which had never been a problem for Fang before in his life. I knew that I was missing ten years of his life, but something told me that they weren't the most cheerful ten years of his life. He'd probably prefer those years in a cage over— "You're babbling in your head aren't you?"

I laughed and pressed my mouth to his. He worked his way away from my mouth to my jaw and down to my neck. "Fang, there's something you should know before we get married."

"You aren't pregnant again are you?" he teased. "Of course not, you haven't had sex since I left." He read my silence so easily. "Oh God, Max who?"

"Let's just say Maggie will be pissed at me when she finds out—" Fang groaned. "Wait, it gets worse." I paused. "I had sex with Dylan." I looked away, and Fang stopped kissing my neck and pulled back, fire in his eyes. I cringed.

**Cliffy! No time to chat, but just review please! One of your last chances this week!**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~ **

**Oh, and a little disclaimer update since it's been a while. No Max Ride for me, but I do own Alyssa, Effie, and Dylan's kids. I also own all of Max's friends too, but I'm not gonna list them. Again, no time to chat. Okay, PEACE! Happy 4****th**** of July America!**


	17. Chapter 17

Fang took a deep breath to calm himself. "That's why he didn't drop you off himself." I nodded. "Were you drunk?"

"A little bit." I admitted. I wrapped my arms around his waist, stroking his back and wings. "You know I have always loved you more than him. I just proved it; we're going to get married." Fang was still standing like a statue. "We are getting married, right?"

Fang pulled back and smiled. "Max, why would you ever doubt that?"

"Well why would you ever be scared to propose to me?"

"Why did it take you this long to figure it out?" he retorted.

"Why would you assume I would figure it out at all? I've been a little preoccupied lately with your disappearance, that other damned miscarriage—"

"Oh yeah, that," he began. "You see, I was there at the hospital to visit you, but the flock wouldn't let me. They knew why I had left, but they still didn't let me see you, probably thinking that it would make you feel worse."

"If you hide things from me, if you let small things keep you from seeing me, then how can I trust you?" I asked.

"You can't, but you just have to." Fang told me.

I shook my head. "How can you ask that of me?" I paused before I started crying. I walked to the ledge and unfolded my wings. "Are you coming or not?" I asked. I turned away, half expecting him to stay put, but he took off behind me. I went into hyper-speed, making him fall behind me.

When I got home, I left the door unlocked as I went in a got dressed for bed. I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth when Fang came in, getting out his face wash, teeth stuff, soap, and razor and shaving cream. I pulled my straight hair back behind my face as I pulled out my own face wash.

I got myself tucked into bed and watched Fang take blankets out of the closet and head for the living room when I cleared my throat. "What are you doing?" I asked him, keeping the sarcastic tone.

"Umm, going to the couch?" he asked, seeming like he didn't really know the right answer.

"Why don't you come sleep in bed with me, like you did before?" I offered, patting the empty space next to me. He came over, dumping the blankets at the foot of the bed and sat down next to me.

Fang kissed me sweetly for a couple seconds, and then he started to get more serious. He grabbed me by the waist, pushing me down underneath of him. He had his fingers on the edges of my shirt, beginning to pull it over my head when I pulled away. Well, as much as I could have being under someone.

I put my hand over Fang's mouth, making him stop. But then he just kissed the inside of my hand. "Wait, Fang." I pleaded.

He flipped off of me and onto his back, breathing heavily. I was too. We laid there catching our breath, and then I spoke. "Wait, Fang, I don't want to do this now."

Fang shot me a confused look. "It sounds like all you have done in the past day is have sex, now you don't want to."

"Back when you and me first got together after that ten years, Ella suggested protection for sex, and then told me that I didn't want to be pregnant when I got married, just so that I can enjoy my wedding night correctly. Which is true, I do want to." Fang looked disappointed. "We can still sleep together." I told him, reaching out and touching his face. "But I'm just saying no sex until our wedding night. We've gone for a month without it before."

"I know, I was just hoping for a little reunion fun." He admitted.

I laughed and smiled. "That fly back wasn't enough?"

"I thought you were mad at me. I was stressed out the entire time." Fang said, clutching the hand that was resting on his face and moved it down to where his heart was. I felt the strong pounding of it, but it was fast. He must have been exciting. "I love you."

"I love you. That's why we're getting married."

Fang squinted and threw my hand down on the bed as he sprinted over to the closet. "Damn, I can't believe I forgot about this. I got it because I wasn't sure if I was doing the proposal or not, and even though you asked me, you still deserve this." HE came back to the bed, kneeling on the floor next to it, opening a small velvet box, revealing the most beautiful diamond ring I had ever seen.

I snatched the ring out of the box, putting it on my finger. I watched how it glittered in the light provided from the fan overhead. "Oh God, I love you so much."

"So what they say is true: diamonds are a girl's best friend. More so than their fiancé." We both collapsed on each other laughing so hard we couldn't breathe and our stomach muscles hurt badly.


	18. Chapter 18

**Last chance for you guys to soak up the Fax and review for a week! Maybe I'll put a lot of Fax in here as a special treat, since you guys have been amazing with reviewing.**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**

Later that week, we were having a birthday dinner for Nudge at Ella and Iggy's house. They had invited the entire flock, Mom, and even Jeb. I could picture Iggy gritting his teeth and agreeing to it though. For the most part, we all just stood around and chatted about old times and played with Effie.

Fang and I had waited until this party to tell everyone about our engagement so that we would be able to make the announcement together. Halfway through the party though Angel came, with her boyfriend in tow. He was a good-looking boy, except for the fact that he wasn't a boy. He was my age, and his name was Sam. We all noticed who it was at the same time, minus Mom and Ella, and just kind of stood there with our jaws hanging open.

"Do you guys have any idea how ridiculous you all look?" she asked. Then she motioned to Sam. "This is my boyfriend Sam, but we all know him don't we?"

I felt frozen. I was about to announce my engagement to Fang in front of the guy I had almost dated when I was fourteen. I stiffly nodded, and Fang put a hand on my shoulder briefly before walking toward the dining area. "I think Ella mentioned that dinner was ready?" he asked everyone.

Ella still looked confused but she quickly recovered. "Oh yeah, Iggy, can you take Effie and put her down in her play area?" She asked, handing over the baby.

Various 'ums' and yeses later, we were all seated at the table. I was sitting closest to the end, next to Ella who was on the end. Iggy was across from me, with Nudge in the middle next to him, and Fang corresponded her. He hooked his right ankle around my left one, and at first I like it, but then I remembered our agreement and gave him my this-is-too-sexual-to-not-count look. He sighed and picked up his fork and dug into his steak.

We separated into our own little conversations, and after cake, I was talking to Ella about Effie. "Yeah, she's gotten so big though." I told Ella.

"Oh I know." Ella agreed.

"So how has Iggy been?" I asked.

Ella was about to answer when Fang grabbed my hand that was resting on the table, stroking the ring. "I think it's time, don't you?" he asked me smiling at me. I sighed and nodded.

"No point in putting it off." I agreed. I stood up and clapped my hands to get everyone's attention. They all looked at just me and I realized that Fang hadn't stood up yet. I grabbed his shirt and pulled him up next to me. "Right, um…well, Fang and I have news." I prompted. "Fang, honey do you want to tell them?" I asked him, hating the feel of everyone looking at me.

"Oh God. Max you don't need to stand up and interrupt everyone just to tell them all that you're pregnant again." Gazzy teased.

I gave him a death glare. "I am not pregnant again Gazzy, I am marrying Fang!" I sniped. Then I realized how I said it, and quickly corrected myself. "Yeah, Fang and I are getting married." I said in a happier tone.

For a couple seconds it was quiet, and then everyone started exclaiming different things. Ella stood up and kissed my cheek, hugging me and squealing. "I knew it!" she said.

Then Gazzy stood up, tapping on his glass with a spoon in the universal sign for a kiss. I glanced at Fang who had just received a hug from Mom, and he shrugged and put his hands on my waist as he pulled me close. But he fooled me and just pecked me on the lips quickly.

"Oh please…" Nudge said rolling her eyes. "We know you two have had sex, kiss each other like you mean it." She scolded. I blushed and glanced quickly at Sam, who until now had dealt with the weirdness pretty well, but I guess he remembered our past all too well…

Fang turned my head and smashed his mouth against mine. He tried to be funny about it though. He looped one arm around my waist securely and held the top of my arm and dipped me down like people do in those old movies that Nudge loves so much. It would have been really cool; but he dropped me. Oh, and it gets better, because due to the shift in balance, he couldn't stay upright so he landed right on top of me.

We laid there awkwardly for a couple seconds until I finally pushed him off of me and jumped up, seeing a very amused group of people. Fang slowly rose and took his seat as I sat down in mine. He cleared his throat awkwardly and folded his hands in front of him as I crossed my arms over my chest.

Effie started to cry from her nursery. Ella stood up and walked down the hallway to tend to her daughter and Iggy followed after her. Mom stood up and started to clear the dishes. "Jeb, help me with the dishes please." She said.

"I need some air." I said standing and walking outside.

"Gee, I wonder why." Gazzy whispered. I smacked him on the head when I passed him.

I walked out onto the back patio, and I wasn't surprised when Fang came out a couple seconds after me. I spoke to him without turning around to face him. "Stay in front of the windows, just so that they don't think that the only thing we do is kiss." I told him smiling.

I heard Fang chuckle and I turned around to look at him. "So…what do you think of Sam and Angel?" he asked.

"It's weird. He's…eight years older than her. That's kind of gross. He's twenty-five, and she's seventeen. She isn't even out of high school yet." I said. "Wait, I thought she said that her boyfriend is in high school?"

"Yeah, that's what you told me, so that's what I've been thinking. But I guess we were both wrong. Unless they broke up and we didn't hear about it."

"Well, they have kept things from me before." I admitted.

Fang nodded in agreement. "But, you know, what do you think of Sam, now that he is older and more mature. Not a skinny beanpole, but a macho man." He eventually asked.

"You have never been very good at hiding your jealousy you know." I said.

Fang gave me a look that said _Just answer the question_.

"I think that you are being ridiculous if you honestly think that Sam is a threat to you. I also think that he is not as much of a macho man as you."

"I'm being ridiculous?" he asked, as if he couldn't believe it.

"Yes, you are being ridiculous." I told him.

He took a step closer to me and glared. "So you're telling me that if Lissa didn't show up all of a sudden, just out of the blue, you would not be jealous?"

"It's different for girls." I told him, shrugging.

"What about Brigid?" he asked.

I sighed. "Okay, yeah, I would want to make sure your feelings for her are completely gone." I admitted.

"But I didn't even have feelings for her, so that was a trick question."

"What? You can't ask a trick question when it is about feelings." I told him.

He narrowed his gaze. "Why not?"

"Because then you can lie about it being a trick question. And then you can lie about it being a trick question when it really was a trick question and—"

I was cut off by Fang kissing me. He grasped my face in his hands and looked me in the eyes. "Don't you think that I have told you that you talk too much too many times?" he asked me.

I was about to answer when a water balloon hit me in the back of my head. I turned around and saw Gazzy run back behind a bush. "Gazzy I'm going to kill you!" I started to run after him but Fang pulled me back.

"Wait, I have something for you." Then he grabbed the garden hose and aimed it right at me. Ella and Iggy came running from around the hedges with Iggy shouting, "Water war!"

We were all so old, but we were acting like kids again. It reminded me of times before Fang left and we would all hang out in Mom's backyard and goof off. Except something about this time felt different. Maybe it was because Sam was there, and it was just two pasts colliding, or maybe it was the way he looked when all the guys gave up trying to keep dry so they all just took off their shirts. I couldn't take my eyes away.

**So that's it for a while my friends! I do have a question, I'm working on another story right now, do you think that Max would have a boy or a girl baby? Review, telling me your preference and even put in a good name with it if you want. So, yeah, REVIEW! IT'S YOUR LAST CHANCE FOR A WEEK!**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey guys! Oh, and dolls. Okay, so I am finally back from my mission trip, unfortunately. I had just so much fun I didn't want to leave at all! I'm on this kind of high from it, my friends and I call it my ASP High because that's the name of the trip, and the trip just put me in such a good mood to help people and I feel so rejuvenated and refreshed. It's like a fresh of breath air. Anyway, I am in a good mood so you can count on a mushy chapter, actually, a lot of mushy chapters. I think I wrote the last four chapters of this book on the my little construction vacation, and I already know what the next book will be called. But I'll give all of you an AN at the end of the book and I'll give you all of the info you need on the next book, including a summary! Woot woot. Anyway, I think there will be at least five more chapters of this book. And thank you so much for reviewing!**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**

I stopped at Starbuck's on my way to pick Fang up from work to pick up a coffee for him. It was December, and Fang and I had been engaged for about five months. We had just celebrated our one year anniversary the week before by going and sitting in the cave that we had reunited in; the one by the hawks. We had just sat there and talked and looked at each other and maybe we made out a little bit. Okay, that's all we did, but that's not my point.

Fang was setting up new guitars on one of the back walls of the music store with his best friend Cody when I came in. His other best friend Lucas was standing at the register but he ran toward me to give me a big hug. "Max, I thought I was never gonna see you around here ever again!" he yelled, catching all of the customers' attention.

I pulled away from him and walked over to meat Fang in the back of the store where he was up on a ladder lifting up a nice acoustic guitar. He laughed as he carefully lifted the instrument on to the shelf, looking down at me as I crossed my arms impatiently, still holding the tray of coffees in one hand. Fang jumped lightly down from the top of the ladder and took one of the cups of coffee off the tray, kissing me at the same time.

"I think you win the world's best fiancée award." He said, pulling off the little tab and taking a sip of mocha.

I laughed. "I thought you would want a pick-me-up before work." I told him, taking my cup out of the tray and throwing the tray into the trash bag at my feet.

Cody propped his elbow up on the step ladder and waved to me. "So what are you two doing today?"

"Ordering and trying the cake. But we are not going to get chocolate icing." I smiled as I looked up at Fang.

This was obviously news to him. Fang loved chocolate icing, and I did too, but I wanted my cake to be white, not brown or dark. I laughed at his exasperated expression and shook his shoulder lightly. He looked frustrated. "Why aren't we getting chocolate icing? We both love chocolate icing!"

Cody stepped in. "Dude, I don't think they even sell wedding cakes with chocolate icing. I think I tried to get chocolate on mine and it didn't work." Cody said. "Wedding cakes are supposed to be white, not brown."

I tugged on Fang's arm. "Come on. I don't want to be late."

"Fine. But the chocolate icing thing is still open to discussion." Fang told me, following me out of the store.

* * *

"Oh my gosh, taste this one." I said past the cake in my mouth. I scooped some more of the red velvet and cream cheese cake onto my fork and aimed it at his mouth. He smiled and opened his mouth as I popped the bite in. He moaned and closed his eyes in pleasure.

"That one is definitely the best." He said nodding and swallowing. We both looked at each other in the eye, making sure it was what we wanted and then we faced the cook sitting across the counter from us.

Iggy sighed. "So how tall do you want the cake to be?" he asked.

I bit my lip, doing the math. Including Fang and I, we had six genetically enhanced mutants that would probably eat three pieces each, plus Total who would probably eat about two pieces. Dylan had never R.S.V. so I assumed that he would be attending with his wife. Then we had about seventy – five other guests, not including Mom, Jeb, Effie, Ella, and John Abate. Oh, and then there was Sam too, who I had invited spur of the moment.

"Two feet and six inches." Fang answered; he was always better at math than me.

I nodded in reassurance at Iggy. He sighed and started to sketch it out on his paper. "What colors do you want the flowers to be?" he asked.

"Red and black." I said automatically. They were the color scheme I had decided to go with, red being my favorite color and black obviously being Fang's. "Oh my gosh, red velvet cake is perfect for the colors."

Fang kind of stared at me for a couple seconds. "You sound like such a girl right now." He said, wrapping his hand around the back of my neck to bring my face closer to his. We kissed for a couple minutes and eventually Iggy coughed, bringing us back to reality.

* * *

The last week before the wedding was kind of a blur. I went with Ella and Nudge to pick up all of the dresses and then dropped them off at Mom's house, where we would all be getting ready for the wedding. Just two nights from the wedding, we went out for my bachelorette part. We went to a strip bar and laughed and I enjoyed my last moments of freedom of looking at men flirtatiously.

But the morning of the wedding finally came, and Nudge picked me up from my apartment to go to Mom's house. Fang had spent the night at Iggy's so that I wouldn't see him until the actual ceremony. I didn't mind except for the fact that I didn't sleep very well that night. It could have been the nerves, but I was blaming him because let's face it, blaming Fang for nothing is more fun.

I went into my old room in Mom's house and sat down at the bureau where Ella was ready with a curling iron. I sighed and let her do my hair. Angel took out my dress and hung it on the canopy so she could steam the dress. I really did love it, even though it was nothing like what I thought I would want. It was like a princess gown; a softly curved neckline, strapless, tight around the bodice and flaired out at mid-thigh, with red flower embroidery on the top, wrapping in a single line around the back meeting the corset.

Ella was going to curl my hair and pin it around my head, and then insert the tiara with silver and crimson accents in it. It would hold the elaborately threaded veil in place. Before the reception I would take the veil off and just leave the tiara.

"Max, are you excited?" Nudge asked, handing a pin that she was holding out to Ella. Effie was lying and crawling on the bed next to Mom, who had just slipped out to get a tray of food for all of us.

"Of course I'm excited. I hardly slept last night because I was so nervous and so excited." I told her.

Angel laughed. "I bet you're going to blame Fang though."

"You bet." I started to zone out though, thinking about that night, and not knowing where Fang was taking me. He had so much money saved up from work over the past years in addition to the money he got from going on both his missions and mine. I had offered to pay for some of it, but he refused. He said, quote, "It's a guy thing." I shrugged and just kissed him on the cheek before flipping through the channels on the TV.

"Have you guys talked about buying a house yet?" Ella asked past the bobby pin that she was holding between her teeth like she had done it every day of her life.

"A little bit. We kind of just want to settle down before we get a house." I informed Ella.

She frowned though. "You're going to settle down just so that you can pack up and move and then have to settle down again?"

"Ella, Fang and I live in a three bedroom apartment, with three full bathrooms. One of the bedrooms has two twin-size mattresses and the other has one queen size mattress. We have a full kitchen and dining—"

"—and living area, I know. But you don't want to have to move into a house when you are pregnant." Ella told me.

"Don't worry; I don't plan on having any children any time soon." I whispered, mostly to myself.

Ella went over to the bookshelf and opened up a small box, then came back to me and placed the tiara on my head. Mom had just come in and quickly covered her eyes, feeling around for the table that she could put the tray of food on. "I don't want to see yet." She explained, feeling her way out of the room.

We all laughed and finally it was time to let Nudge do my make-up. "Don't go overboard Nudge." I warned her.

"Don't worry, I won't. I'm just going to do some foundation to smooth at your pores, then some powder to make your skin look softer, some blush, just some smoky eye make-up." She told me, but it sounded like total gibberish.

"I have no idea what you just said, but I'm pretty sure you threw in some insults."

Nudge laughed and started smudging liquid foundation onto my face and neck. A half hour later it was time for me to put on my dress. I stripped down to my panties and Nudge and Ella helped me pull the dress up over my butt and then Ella did the corset in the back as Nudge and Angel fluffed out the train. They all got into their dresses and grabbed their bouquets made of red and white roses. I had the larger of them of course, and mine had black feathers in addition to the roses.

Mom knocked on the open door with her eyes closed. "Are you ready Max?" she asked.

"Yes, Mom, I'm ready." I sighed. She opened her eyes and gasped when she saw me. She covered her mouth with her hand and widened her eyes.

"Max, honey, you look beautiful." She mused.

"You say that like you are surprised or something." I noted.

She laughed. "I just didn't imagine that you would look this beautiful." Mom walked around me, looking at me from every angle.

Finally she looked around at all of us and sighed one more time. "It's time."

**Just some funny Fax stuff. I have kind of hit a block, and this was mostly a filler, but I know how the wedding is going to go down, and I am excited for you all to read it. Review please!**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**


	20. Chapter 20

**Sorry, I know it's been a while. But my family and I are in the midst of landscaping the yard around our pool, and we have to finish it before we put water in the pool, which sucks, but it's good incentive. Except for the fact that it is freakin' 100 degrees outside! I live in Pennsylvania, for God's sake! It should not be 100 degrees here! And OMG! It's the 20****th**** chapter! I remember when I just typed this up as a one-shot, good times, good times. Anyway, here's the next chapter for Ten Years Later.**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**

**Oh, if you have a character on the online Pirates of the Caribbean game and you want to find me, I am Lisa Keelhayes.**

The wedding was in a little chapel in Phoenix, and when we arrived all of the guests were seated and Jeb was waiting in the back of the sanctuary to escort me down the aisle. Nudge doubled as our wedding coordinator directed everyone down the aisles. Ella was my maid of honor and Effie was my flower girl, and Iggy was carrying her down the aisle. Sam was luckily able to take Iggy's place as a groom, so he wore Iggy's tux while Iggy wore a simple black suit with a red tie. Nudge stood in the back to give directions to Ella before going down the aisle.

Finally the music changed to Pachelbel's canon, and Ella started to walk down the aisle. Iggy came over to me after she left. "I just want you to know, that the first time you were in the hospital with a miscarriage, after Fang and I got in that fight, I told him that he would have to prove to me that he still loves you that same way he used to. Well, he isn't doing a bad job with proving it to me. I could have done without that little traumatic episode after he left, because he shouldn't have left, but he's still gonna be a good husband."

I was already tearing up, and Jeb squeezed my hand. "Thanks Ig. For everything." I said, hugging him and Effie. I kissed Effie's forehead and then wiped away the lipstick mark. "Now go, before you get Nudge mad for missing you cue."

He laughed and started to walk down the aisle. The church's sexton closed the doors to the center aisle as Jeb pulled my veil down over my face and smiled at me. "Are you ready for this?"

"I've been ready my whole life. Well, my whole life after I saved the world." I laughed.

I started to turn away but Jeb grasped my arm and made me face him again. "You really do look beautiful today Maximum."

My throat closed up. "Thank you." I choked out. "Dad."

We hugged one last time before linking arms and facing the closed doors. They finally swung open and the congregation stood up and faced us. "Oh God." I whispered, suddenly feeling one hundred feet tall.

My heart was pounding as the media people that were stuck over to the side snapped pictures of Jeb and I. I felt fresh adrenaline pour into my veins as we began to walk down the aisle. I looked at the minister, searching for Fang, but I couldn't see him. Finally about halfway down the aisle, Fang stepped out from behind the other grooms and he had a wide smile on his face.

When Jeb and I reached him, Jeb took my hand and placed it in Fang's open and ready hand. Jeb squeezed me one last time before turning away and sitting in the pew next to my mom and Effie. I was surprised to see Iggy standing where the best man was supposed to be, but then I figured that Fang and him had worked it out before wedding.

We exchanged the traditional vows. Fang was first of course. "Maximum Ride Martinez, do you take this ring, as a promise of our love and life together, through sickness and health, until death do we part?"

Tears started to pour down my cheeks, and I immediately started to hope that Nudge had put on waterproof mascara. "I do." I choked out. "And do you Fang Nicholas Ride, take this ring as a promise of our love and life together, through sickness and health, until death do we part?"

"I do." He said, his smile growing so wide I thought his jaw might unhinge.

The minister looked at both of us. He eyed Fang, and then turned to me. "Max, you may kiss your husband." We both laughed before he winded his arms around my waist and dipped me down a bit as we kissed, our positions being a little awkward because of my bouquet that I was still holding.

The reception was at a nearby hotel. They had a beautiful pavilion that overlooked a golf course and fountain and garden and pond, and it was just simply beautiful at sunset with the mountains in the background. There was even more media than at the wedding at our reception, but we didn't care.

The song that Fang and I dance to was Marching Bands of Manhattan, by Death Cab for Cutie. He and I had spent an entire day at the music store when it was closed, sorting through music and picking out the ones that we like best for our reception music. After Fang and I danced together, it was my turn to dance with Jeb.

The cake was delicious, of course, and then our guests began to taper off, until it was just the wedding party left. We all decided to go to go to the lounge for cocktails and some time to chat. On our way inside, Fang whispered in my ear. "We need to go or we'll miss our flight."

"Flying on a plane? That's a bit redundant don't you think?" I asked him.

"Yes, but I figured you didn't want to fly from Phoenix to Verona while carrying all of you luggage." He said, finally revealing where we were going.

I smiled and poked his chest. "That's what husbands are for." We both laughed then, and he pulled me in for what seemed like the hundredth kiss of the night.

**I hope you enjoyed the wedding! I know it was short. I need to go outside in the sweltering heat again, ugh. At least my boyfriend brought all of his friends over just now to help, and same with my brother, so that should be good. Love and Peace!**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**


	21. Chapter 21

**Hey guys and dolls! I'm kind of on a crazy schedule right now. I'm packing for vacation right now, and we all just got our pool filled so I've been laying out, trying to get as tan as a redhead can get. Funny enough, I am staying in the place for vacation that I used for the pictures of Max's bedroom. So it's been pretty easy for me to picture how all of those scenes in her place go. I'm mostly writing in the morning and late at night, so some of this stuff will be weird because I'll be just so tired. This will probably be the last chapter I type for this story until like, August tenth, so review while you can! **

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**

Fang and I got back from our honeymoon two weeks after the wedding. We were both so energized, we ended up getting into a food fight involving a jar of Nutella and three cans of whipped cream, which all ended up strewn around my…excuse me, our bedroom. About five minutes after we got back, we started to have sex again, and then there was the Nutella and Whipped Cream fight, more sex, then the Marshmallow Fluff fight, then we had an Oreo Eating Contest – he won, hands down – and then we had sex more. The fights got so bad that my neighbors were knocking on my front door telling us to be quiet.

About two days after our return, we were both lying on the floor by the lit fireplace, seeing that it was kind of chilly in my apartment. We were both stripped down to our undergarments, my hair and Fang's still wet from our shower.

I stared at the flickering shadows on the wall from the fireplace while Fang stroked my hair, my cheek, my face, my arm, every other part of my body. "I forgot how good having sex with you was." He whispered.

I rolled over to face him. "See? I told you that waiting would be worth it."

"And you were right, like you always are." Fang said. He rolled so that he was on top of me, and my breathing sped up. He had just started to kiss me when the phone rang.

"Leave it, it probably isn't important." He mumbled against my lips.

"What if it's Mom? Or Jeb? You do realize that we haven't talked to them since the wedding right?" I asked.

"I need you though." He whined. Fang actually whined. It wasn't the first time in the past couple weeks.

"Nope." I said, pushing him off of me as I stood up. "Not going to work this time. The phone has rung eleven times in the past two days. This time I will answer." I told him, walking over to the phone.

"Hello?" I asked casually, thinking it was my mother or Jeb or a member of the flock, not even thinking it would be the doctor.

"Hello, this is Dr. Snyder from Phoenix Regional Hospital. Can I speak with Mrs. Maximum Ride?" Dr. Snyder asked.

"Speaking." I said. I glanced over at Fang. He sat up and looked at me seriously when he heard my business-like tone. He stood up and collected the blankets, throwing them in our bedroom and coming over to stand by my side, rubbing the spot in between my wings to soothe me.

"Good morning Max. I heard you and Fang finally got married." Dr. Snyder said. "Congratulations. I'm giving you this opportunity as a friend Max, not just as a doctor. There is an open appointment at the hospital for a fertility test. I was thinking that maybe, you would like to do the test." She said.

"Oh, um…sure. Yeah. I'll do it." I said slowly.

"Okay, I'll put you in the book for it. The appointment is January third, two weeks from now. Does that sound good?" she asked.

"Yep. Thanks Dr. Snyder." I felt Fang stiffen as I hung up the phone. I moved away from him to clean up some of the food on the counter. I looked in fridge for something to eat, but came up with nothing. I took out the menu for the pizza place closest to us and looked through it, really craving a hoagie. Fang stood really still, leaning against the counter looking at me with his arms crossed across his bare chest, which was pretty distracting.

Finally I was just so uncomfortable with his staring I looked up at him held the menu out to him. "Here, find something to order." I told him.

Fang took the menu and laid it down next to him on the counter. He looked down for a couple seconds, and then looked at me again. "So, are you going to explain to me what that phone call was about? Or do you want me to guess?" Oh crap, he was pissed off. "And I'm not pissed off by the way. I'm just curious." Damn. I hated it when he read my mind like that.

I traced invisible patterns on the counter-top with my finger, avoiding his gaze. "Dr. Snyder had an opening for a fertility test, so she called me. She told me she would."

Fang sighed and opened his mouth to say something as the phone rang again. This time I was the one to sigh as I answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Max, it's Jeb." Crap. He sounded serious. He had a mission. "Is Fang there?"

"Yep, but I can speak on his behalf. He's supposed to be ordering dinner for himself." I said, giving him a pointed glare.

"Okay, well I have a mission for him. But he'll have to do some training for it before he goes, so it'll be a two week mission. Maybe even three weeks." I filled with dread. So Fang wouldn't be able to go to the appointment with me. And we wouldn't be able to celebrate Christmas together either. "Max, are you there?"

"Sure, he can do it. We need the money anyway." I mumbled.

"Okay. I'm gonna need him here tomorrow afternoon at three o'clock. Bye Max. And welcome home by the way." Jeb added.

"Yeah, by…Dad. God that'll take some getting used to." I laughed.

"Yep, but it'll be in no time." The line disconnected.

I hung up the phone and met Fang's too calm gaze. "What?" I asked.

"Nothing." He said, in a really calm and quiet tone, shaking his head.

I didn't believe him; I knew him too well. "So now you're pissed off." I stated.

"No, I'm not pissed off. I'm extremely pissed off." He said, still in the calm tone. "Since when did you think that you have the right to volunteer me for week-long missions?"

"Well, you know, we're married. What's yours is mine. Or something like that." I said awkwardly, looking down at my feet.

"It's okay." He said, pulling me into his arms. I rested my head on the chest. When had he gotten so much taller than me? "I just want you to consult me first."

I nodded. "I could go if you want." I offered.

"No, you need to stay here. If Jeb says it's a mission for me, then it probably means it involves invisibility." He said, stroking my messy hair.

"I can be stealthy." I pushed.

I could hear a grin in his tone. "Yes, but you have to take care of the remains of the flock, plus Ella because Iggy is away for a week for business. Let's face it, I'm expendable, you're not."

"Okay." I said, pulling away from him and walking over to get my car keys off of the key holders and grabbing my jacket.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I am going to take you to a mental psychiatrist. If you seriously think that I do not need you, you need help."

"The doctors may disagree if you walk in without clothes on." Fang pointed out.

"True. And it really would be pointless to go put clothes on now since you'll probably find a way to get me back in bed with you when I put them on." I said, reaching up and wrapping my arms around his neck.

He kissed my neck. "You know me too well." Fang picked me up bridal style and carried me back to our bedroom, kicking the door closed on the way.

* * *

"So are you sure you'll be okay going to the appointment alone?" Fang asked for about the thirtieth time. He had his black backpack slung over one shoulder, and he was wearing black jeans, his old black combat boots, and a black hoodie.

"I'll be fine. I'm staying with Ella and Iggy the night before and the night after, so don't worry about me getting home okay." I reassured him for about the thirtieth time.

He sighed. "Okay, fine. Just, leave me a voicemail when you find out what is going on, okay?" he asked, brushing hair out of my eyes.

I nodded, kissed him one last time, and watched him step into the elevator. Then I looked over the railing of the balcony and watched him get into his black Mustang GT500 and drive off. Yep, this marriage was off to a good start.

**This is a lengthy chapter, I know. There will only be a couple more chapters of the story until the sequel, so this is one of your last chances to review! Oh, plus you'll have to wait for the last chapter for a week. Oh no! It'll be a cliff hanger at the end of the story, and I'll probably jump into the sequel immediately. It'll be called Eleven Years Later. Original, I know. So click that little blue link down below and review, please!**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**


	22. Chapter 22

**Hey guys and dolls! I think I'm just going to finish this book up while I can. I wrote the last two chapters while I was on my mission trip and just for clarification; Max's dress was white with red embroidery. There's a picture on my profile. The last chapter will be super short, so I apologize in advance. **

**Oh, and last chapter took place two weeks after Max and Fang got back from their honeymoon and a month after the wedding. So this chapter takes place a month and a half after the wedding. My bad.**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**

On January third, I ate lunch before I left. Ella was feeding Effie when she looked over her shoulder to me. "Are you sure you don't mind going alone?" she asked.

"Like I told Fang before he left, I'll be fine. No matter what." I reassured her. "And to prove that I'll be fine, I'm leaving my cell phone here."

Ella put down the feeding spoon and turned to face me. "You really shouldn't do that Max. I'd feel a hell of a lot better if you took your phone." She said, picking up my cell phone and pushing it into my hand.

"Ella, I promise. I'll be fine." I put the phone down and grabbed my keys instead. Iggy came out of his office to give me a hug. Then I got in my car and drove off.

_After the appointment_

What was the doctor talking about? I wasn't able to have children? Who was he to decide that? Why did I go to this appointment without Fang? My mind whirled around with these questions as I sped dangerously fast down the highway. I had the stereo blasting and knew it was Mom calling when the Bluetooth turned on. I quickly turned it off and then put in another CD.

I had managed to hold back my tears in the office, in the reception area after as I signed papers, and until that very moment in my car. So I broke down crying going eighty miles per hour down a busy highway in the pouring down rain.

I remember the feeling of being spun, then slamming into something and then being thrown onto something rock hard. After that, there was nothing.

Fang cracked open the lock, walking in the warehouse silently and steadily, remaining invisible. His cell phone in his bag rang, echoing off the bare walls. "Damn." He whispered. He took it out and saw that it was Jeb, so he quickly hung up.

Fang made his way stealthily through the abandoned warehouse, but then his phone rang again. He checked the Caller Id, and saw that it was Dr. Martinez. He deliberated by then sighed and pressed End. A few seconds later his phone started to ring again. This time it was Max. Something had to be wrong if Jeb, Dr. M and Max had to call him when he was on a mission.

He made a quick decision and ducked behind a box, answering the phone. As he did, he caught sight of the date. Max's appointment was that day. A feeling of dread swept through him.

"Max, what's wrong?" he whispered, trying to remain invisible.

"Fang, I knew you'd answer if I used Max's phone." Iggy said quickly. He sounded stressed, even panicked. "Ella and I are on the way to the hospital with Effie."

"Iggy, what happened? What's wrong with Effie?" Fang asked tensely.

"Max left her phone at our house when she left for the doctor's; she promised she'd be back. When she didn't show through, Ella got a call from Jeb. He said that Max was airlifted to the hospital. There was an accident on the road, her car rolled and she–" Iggy's voice stopped. Fang noticed his finger on the End button. Completely forgetting invisibility, Fang ran from the warehouse.

**Short, I know. But I am trying to lengthen the last chapter as much as possible. Okay, review! You only have one more chance!**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**


	23. Chapter 23

**Last chapter! Don't forget to review! **

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**

The flock was in the ER waiting room when Fang burst through the doors. Iggy was sandwiched between Ella and Dr. M. Ella was cradling Effie in one arm and held Iggy's hand with the other, while Iggy had his free arm around Dr. M. Jeb stood quietly, watching Gazzy and Nudge pace. Angel and Sam sat closely. They all stopped what they were doing and looked at Fang as he entered the room.

Jeb pushed himself off of the wall he was leaning against and stopped Fang. "What are you doing here?" Jeb asked. "You are supposed to be on a mission."

"I quit." Fang said, looking past Jeb at the doctors that were bustling about. "My wife almost died tonight after getting the worst news a woman could possibly get. I could have prevented it. If I weren't on a mission today, I could've gone with her and prevented this. So don't you dare give me this…this shit about being on missions and then ditching the. Not tonight, not ever!" Fang yelled.

Dr. Snyder walked out of a room and looked around the waiting room before finding Fang. "Mr. Ride." She said, hurrying toward Fang. "I'd like to speak with you about your wife alone." She whispered, eyeing Jeb.

Fang and Dr. Snyder went to a hallway with no stray visitors so that they could talk. "Mr. Ride, your wife will make a full recovery, but in time."

"Oh thank God." Fang whispered, covering his face with his hands. "How long?"

"About seven and a half months." Dr. Snyder hedged. She paused, waiting for Fang to do the math. "Fang, your wife, Max, is pregnant."

"What?" Fang asked dumbly. This changed Fang's entire idea of what happened that afternoon. Had Max crashed because she was crying tears of joy?

"Yes." Dr. Snyder nodded.

"And is…it…the baby, okay?" Fang asked.

"Yes, still perfectly healthy. It's a miracle that it survived after Max was thrown from the car."

"Max was thrown from the car?" Fang asked, feeling even dumber.

"Oh," Dr. Snyder squeaked. "You haven't gotten details yet. Well, whether you want them or not, I'm going to give you paperwork to do while Max is getting all patched up and hooked up." She said, handing Fang a stack of papers, a clipboard, and a pen. "I'll find you when you can see her."

As she began to walk away, Fang called her back. "Is this for real Doctor?"

Dr. Snyder nodded and smiled widely. "You know Fang; I have a really good feeling about this time. I know you're not a particularly religious person, but there was an angel watching over your wife and child tonight. Maybe it'll linger for the next several months." She started to walk away again, but then turned around. "She doesn't know yet by the way. I think you should tell her."

When Fang was finally allowed to see Max, he didn't know what to expect. But he hadn't seen her so beat up in eleven years. She had a long gash tracing her cheekbone and another over her right eyebrow. Her lip was split in two places and most of her face was covered in bruises.

Max kept her eyes closed until after Fang kissed her forehead lightly. Fang noticed a kind of glow in her eyes that was similar to the one she had on their wedding day, but it was still different.

Fang leaned on the edge of Max's bed, taking in her beautiful face, despite all of the cuts and bruises. He was trying to find ways to tell her, but he was unsuccessful.

She finally spoke. "Fang, I know. I think I've known for a couple weeks. I just didn't want to take a test and get excited, then get everyone else excited, and then it ends. I can't stand to do that to you—"

"Max, shut up please." Fang said. "I'll be excited for our children no matter how it ends. But this time is different."

"You're right." Max agreed. Fang thanked God that she was on the same page as him. "Because this time I'll end it myself. I'm going to get an abortion."

**So that's the end guys! Review, it's your last chance!**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**


	24. Epilogue Kind Of

**So I promised all of you an AN about the next book so here it is!**

**I just wanna say that I am thoroughly disappointed in the fact that I have ninety – nine reviews, and not 100! Gosh…anyway, let's get to business.**

**The next book will be called Twelve Years Later. There will be, like, five prologues. And here is the summary!**

Max and Fang went through a lot, and when their first child finally comes, what happens when someone from the past starts to awaken some old feelings? And who does the second child truly belong to? And who is De – Ja - Vu?

**It probably sounds like this book will probably be more dramatic and filled with more action. Well…you're right if that's what you were thinking. Thanks for all of the reviews! This next book picks up right where it belongs. **

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**

**I'm doing the disclaimer for this next book now. Disclaimer: I only own Max and Fang's children, anyone else's children, any of anybody's friends, and just new characters in general.**

*****One last thing, i'm starting school in a week, so updates will be pretty slow. I'm starting high school so i'll probably have even more homework. But i will update ASAP...promise. 3 **


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